ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Fraud and Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many corporate prosecutions for fraud and tax evasion the Crown Prosecution Service has carried out in each year since 2010; and how many such prosecutions resulted in a conviction.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service does not hold data centrally related to whether a prosecution concerned a company or an individual. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by a manual exercise at disproportionate cost.

Fraud: VAT

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions for VAT fraud the Crown Prosecution Service has carried out in each year since 2010; and how many such prosecutions resulted in a conviction.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes offences involving VAT fraud investigated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The CPS hold data related to tax evasions of all kinds, and information related specifically to VAT frauds could not be reasonably obtained other than by undertaking a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The number of prosecutions and convictions for tax evasion offences of all kinds since 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Defendants prosecuted Convictions 
			 2010-11 247 190 
			 2011-12 699 565 
			 2012-13 441 349 
		
	
	These figures represent defendants prosecuted by the CPS where the most serious offence category recorded at the time the case was completed was categorised as an identifiably tax or excise evasion-type offence.

Minimum Wage: Prosecutions

Chris Bryant: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were successfully carried out for failure to abide by national minimum wage legislation in each year since 2008.

Dominic Grieve: Based on information provided by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the national minimum wage (NMW), prosecutions brought by the former Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office resulted in four convictions in 2008, one in 2009 and one in 2010.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of procurement contracts offered by the Law Officers' Departments has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Dominic Grieve: In line with Government procurement policy, The Law Officer's Departments procure the majority of their requirements through pre-existing departmental or pan-government agreements. Contract opportunities which are in excess of £10,000 and that cannot be met through these agreements are offered through the contracts finder website.
	The SFO has advertised one contract opportunity on the contracts finder website of an estimated 20 potential contract opportunities since January 2011. The SFO does not maintain a register of contracts below £10,000 in value and is therefore not able to calculate the exact proportion of total opportunities that this represents.
	The SFO is currently reviewing the services available under the Contracts Finder website with a view to using it more extensively for advertising contract opportunities and for publishing awards including those made under existing framework agreements.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate have offered five contract opportunities via this website, which represents 100% of applicable contracts.
	Details of a further 24 contracts that were only open to companies that had been awarded a place on a pre-existing departmental or pan-government framework agreement, have also been published on the Contract finder website.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has offered six contracts via the Contracts Finder website since January 2011. Details of a total of 23 contracts tendered (offered) or awarded by the CPS have been published. This is a proportion of 26%. The remainder of the contracts that have been let have been through cross Government procurement arrangements.
	In accordance with the requirement to publish information on the Contracts Finder website, the CPS only offers contract opportunities via the website that are not covered by a pre-existing CPS or pan-government agreements and are in excess of £10.000. They are therefore unable to calculate the total proportion of contract opportunities which are offered via the Contracts Finder website.

Rape: Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many rape trials the Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted in each of the last three years; and how many such prosecutions were conducted either wholly or in part by prosecutors who are not specialist rape prosecutors.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of case outcomes of defendants prosecuted for offences of rape by way of a monitoring flag, applied to the case record on the Case Management System (CMS). Contested hearings (or trials) arise where the defendant either enters not guilty pleas to all charges or where a mixture of guilty and not guilty pleas has been entered, and where these pleas are not acceptable to the Crown. The following table represents the number of defendants, in each of the last three years, where a contested outcome has been recorded, inclusive of cases where defendants have entered a mixture of guilty and not guilty pleas.
	
		
			  Number of defendants 
			 2009-10 1,647 
			 2010-11 1,906 
			 2011-12 1,855 
		
	
	It is not possible to ascertain how many of these contested proceedings were conducted either wholly or in part by non specialist rape prosecutors without examining individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The CPS defines rape as any offence from the following list:
	Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
	Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
	Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	Section 30(3) Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	An attempt to commit any of the above offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981;
	Incitement or conspiracy to commit any of the above offences.
	It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for each individual offence on this list. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

Serious Fraud Office: Autonomy

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General whether Autonomy has entered into any contracts with the Serious Fraud Office at any time since 2010.

Oliver Heald: A number of law enforcement agencies including the SFO use Autonomy software and have entered into contracts with Autonomy Systems Ltd.
	The SFO entered into a contract with Autonomy Systems Ltd on 1 June 2009 for an initial period of five years extendable by a further two years, this was extended in June 2011.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for written answer on a named day by the Law Officers' Departments (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by the Law Officers' Departments (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Oliver Heald: To date only five (3.5%) ordinary questions tabled to the Attorney-General's Office during the current session have taken more than five sitting days to answer. All of these five questions were answered within 30 days.
	One (1.5%) question tabled to the Attorney-General for named day answer during the current session received a substantive answer three days after the named day. All of the remaining questions have been answered on the named day.
	As of 23 January we had two ordinary written questions and six named day questions due for answer. None of these are overdue.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Audit

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on simplifying the audit requirements on small and medium-sized companies.

Jo Swinson: In October 2011 the Department consulted on proposals to reduce auditing requirements for small companies and subsidiaries. From that time until the changes were made in October 2012 my officials regularly discussed the proposals with representatives of preparers, users and auditors of company accounts.
	At EU level we continue to discuss audit requirements for medium-sized companies, pressing for a more proportionate regime.

Clothing: Fire Prevention

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on trading regulations concerned with making children's clothing fire retardant.

Jo Swinson: I have received no recent representations regarding making children's clothing fire retardant.

Schools: Snow and Ice

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of employee working hours lost when a school has to close due to inclement weather.

Jo Swinson: The Department has made no such estimates.

Senior Civil Servants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in his Department have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.

Jo Swinson: Since May 2010 the numbers of senior civil servants from core BIS who have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 (a) 16 
			 (b) 32 
			 (c) (1)— 
			 (d) 0 
			 (e) (2)4 
			 (f) 0 
			 (1) BIS does not centrally collect details of the future plans of staff who leave. (2 )Defined as over 30 working days lost.

Shipping: Foreign Workers

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of rates of pay for non-UK seafarer ratings and officers employed on UK-registered vessels; and what proportion of such seafarers are working for rates of pay below the national minimum wage.

Jo Swinson: The Department does not hold this information.
	The minimum wage expressly applies to seafarers working on a UK-registered vessel, unless either their employment is wholly outside the UK or they are not ordinarily resident in the UK. In addition, case law has established the principle that a person with a sufficiently strong connection to the UK can take advantage of UK employment rights such as the minimum wage. Each case has to be considered on its individual facts.
	Seafarers who are concerned that they are entitled to the minimum wage but are not being paid it should make a confidential complaint by calling the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.

Tour de France

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department plans to give to businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber to ensure they maximise the benefits from hosting the Tour de France in 2014.

Michael Fallon: I am delighted that Yorkshire has been selected to host the first two stages of Tour de France 2014.
	I am keen for BIS to help secure and sustain the benefits of this success which, I understand, could have an economic legacy of around £100 million. BIS officials, working with businesses, intermediary organisations and Local Enterprise Partnerships, will ensure the business support services and investment programmes of the Department help deliver this legacy. We will also learn from the outstanding UKTI experience during the Olympics.

CABINET OFFICE

Business

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small and medium-sized business product surgeries have taken place in (a) North Yorkshire, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England to date.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office introduced Product Surgeries to give procurers an opportunity to see what SMEs can offer before launching a procurement exercise. In the One Year On report published in March 2012, eight departments had been involved in six surgeries. We encourage departments to consider using product surgeries as part of their pre-procurement engagement with the market but we do not collect or hold further information on the number of product surgeries or where they are held.

Civil Service: Reform

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress he is making on reform of the civil service.

Francis Maude: The Civil Service Reform Plan, published on 19 June 2012, sets out a series of specific and practical actions that will enable the civil service to meet current and future challenges. It is the first steps in an ongoing programme of reform.
	Since the publication, progress at implementing the actions has been mixed. The pace of reform must accelerate over this year. Last year the Government published digital strategies, outlining the first wave of public services to become "digital-by-default". Our Next Generation Shared Services Strategy outlines how we will share corporate services across Government.
	We have also taken steps to increase the accountability of the civil service. In December, the objectives of permanent secretaries were published online for the first time ever including information on their operational and commercial experience. And to ensure the civil service has the very best talent working for it we recently announced the introduction of a new Fast Track Apprentice Scheme.

Conditions of Employment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of staff in No. 10 Downing street work (a) part-time, (b) in a job-share or (c) in another flexible working arrangement.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office, including 10 Downing street, currently employs 7% of all staff on a part-time basis.
	Details of staff working in job-share or other flexible working arrangements are not collected centrally.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) consultations and (b) policy reviews each Department has held since May 2010.

Oliver Letwin: Information about the number of policy reviews is not held centrally. The number of consultations held between January 2012 and the start of December 2012 has been collected by Cabinet Office—460 were held by Government in that time period. Similar figures are not held for 2010 and 2011.

Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people were employed in the (a) private and (b) public sector in each constituency in each of the last 15 years.

Nick Hurd: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 372W.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average measure of well-being was for each sex of each ethnic group in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2013
	As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question.
	ONS has not currently published an analysis of ethnic group by sex; however, we are currently undertaking this type of analysis and plan to publish by April 2013. An analysis of subjective well-being by ethnic group was published in July 2012, please see following table:
	
		
			 Average (mean) life satisfaction, worthwhile, happy yesterday and anxious yesterday ratings(1): by ethnic group(2), April 2011 to March 2012(3, 4). United Kingdom 
			  Average (mean)(5) 
			  Life satisfaction Worthwhile Happy yesterday Anxious yesterday 
			 White 7.4 7.7 7.3 3.1 
			 Gypsy, Traveller/Irish Traveller(6, 7) — — — — 
			 Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups 7.1 7.5 7.1 3.4 
			 Indian 7.5 7.6 7.4 3.4 
			 Pakistani 7.2 7.4 7.1 3.5 
			 Bangladeshi 7.0 7.3 7.1 3.6 
			 Chinese 7.4 7.4 7.3 3.3 
			 Any other Asian background 7.4 7.6 7.4 3.4 
			 Black/African/Caribbean/Black British(8) 6.7 7.4 6.9 3.4 
			 Arab 7.1 7.4 7.1 3.7 
			 Other ethnic group 7.2 7.4 7.2 3.4 
			 (1) Adults aged 16 and over were asked ‘Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?’, ‘Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?’, ‘Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?’ and ‘Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?’ where nought is ‘not at all’ and 10 is ‘completely’. (2) There are some differences in the way ethnic group data is collected and the terminology used across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. (3) Non-respondents not included. (4) These first annual estimates of subjective well-being are considered to be experimental published at an early stage to involve users in their development and to allow feedback from users. (5) Sample too small for reliable estimate. (6) There are differences in data collection across the UK, however responses from GB and Northern Ireland have been combined to produce a UK estimate. Note that 'Roma' responses are not included within this group. (7) In Scotland, the ‘African’ category is collected and presented separately to ‘Caribbean’ or ‘Black’, however under the harmonised UK output, these two categories are output as Black/African/Caribbean/Black British. The African categories used in Scotland could potentially capture ‘White/Asian/Other African’ in addition to ‘Black’ identities. Source: April 2011 to March 2012, Annual Population Survey Subjective Well-being Experimental dataset, ONS

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has made an assessment of the effect of (a) marriage, (b) religion and spirituality, (c) employment, (d) perceived health, (e) quality of government and (f) social relations on levels of happiness.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2013
	As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of (a) marriage, (b) religion and spirituality, (c) employment, (d) perceived health, (e) quality of government and (f) social relations on levels of happiness. (139266)
	Subjective well-being estimates are available from the Annual Population Survey subjective well-being dataset for April 2011 to March 2012. The following table provides estimates from the question 'how happy did you feel yesterday?' by marital status, economic activity and self-reported health.
	
		
			 Happy yesterday(1,2) by self-reported health, marital status(3) and economic activity, April 2011 to March 2012(4,5), United Kingdom 
			   Percentage in each category on 11 point scale 
			   Very low (0 to 4) Low (5 and 6) Medium (7 and 8) High (9 and 10) 
			 Economic Activity In employment 9.1 18.3 42.8 29.9 
			  Unemployed 17.5 22.1 35.3 25.1 
			  Economically inactive 12.6 17.0 34.6 35.7 
			       
			 Self-reported Health Very good 6.3 14.2 40.7 38.9 
			  Good 9.2 18.5 42.2 30.0 
			  Fair 15.4 23.1 36.0 25.5 
			  Bad 31.2 24.8 26.4 17.6 
			  Very bad 48.4 19.7 17.4 14.4 
			       
			 Marital Status Married/Civil partnership 7.9 15.9 40.3 35.9 
			  Cohabiting 10.5 18.9 41.1 29.5 
			  Single 13.2 20.1 39.5 27.2 
			  Widowed 12.7 19.1 34.8 33.3 
			  Divorced, separated or former civil partner 17.4 20.7 35.6 26.3 
			 (1) Adults aged 16 and over were asked 'Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?' where nought is 'not at all' and 10 is 'completely'. (2) 'Married' includes people in Civil Partnerships, '.Cohabiting' includes same sex couples (but not in a Civil Partnership), 'Widowed' includes surviving civil partners and 'Divorced' includes people who are separated and separated/dissolved Civil Partnerships. (3) Non-respondents not included. (4) These first annual estimates of subjective well-being are considered to be experimental, published at an early stage to involve users in their development and to allow feedback from users. Source: April 2011 to March 2012, Annual Population Survey Subjective Well-being Experimental dataset, ONS 
		
	
	ONS has not made any assessment of subjective well-being and religion and spirituality, quality of Government, or social relations.

Internet

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with access to the internet in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated 23 January 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what estimate has been made of the number of people with access to the Internet in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England. 139616
	Estimates of Internet use by adults aged 16 years and over are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics and are available on our website. These estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and have United Kingdom (UK) coverage. The latest available estimate (in respect of 2012 Q3) of the number of adults who have ever used the Internet in Yorkshire and the Humber is 3.6 million. The estimate for England is 36.1 million. Estimates at parliamentary constituency level are not available.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made in eliminating pre-qualification questionnaires for procurements with a value of under £100,000.

Chloe Smith: Before 2010 pre-qualification questionnaires and other unnecessary bureaucracy made it harder for small companies to win business with Government. This Government are determined to address this and create a level playing field for businesses of alt sizes. Since May 2010 the Government have eliminated the use of pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for procurements below the EU threshold of approximately £100,000 in 15 central Government Departments, including the Cabinet Office.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many procurement contracts his Department has awarded to small businesses since May 2010.

Chloe Smith: Since January 2011, the Cabinet Office has published its contracts above the value of £10,000 on the Contracts Finder website:
	www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
	Up to December 2012, 850 of these contracts have been awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
	Previously, information on contracts awarded to SMEs was not routinely monitored.
	The spend with SMEs is published in the Cabinet Office Quarterly Data Summaries on the Department's website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/business-plan-quarterly-data-summary

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans his Department has to make Contracts Finder more accessible for small service businesses.

Chloe Smith: In October 2012, we transferred Contracts Finder from the BusinessLink service to become part of GOV.UK. We are keen to further develop the site's functionality and accessibility to improve the service for all suppliers. In particular, we recognise that the search function can be improved and we will be addressing this.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress he has made on encouraging small businesses to bid for Government contracts.

Chloe Smith: Direct spend with SMEs across Government have increased. An additional £1.5 billion has gone to SMEs in 2011-12 (compared to 2009-10) at a time when overall spending has declined.
	All departments are in the process of putting in place plans to deliver an increase in their spend with SMEs and the Prime Minister has asked the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), to rigorously examine them and report back to him on progress on our aspiration of 25% of central Government procurement spend being with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.
	That's why we will continue to make the way we do business more competitive, more transparent, better value and far simpler than before.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by the Church Commissioners (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session.

Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners so far in this Session 2012-13 have answered all written answers by the specified named day.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by the Church Commissioners (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners so far in this Session 2012-13 have answered all ordinary written answers within the specified period.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Building Regulations

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what benchmarks he has set to monitor the success of the amended Part G building regulations;
	(2)  if he plans to extend building regulations under part G3 of the building regulations to require the continued maintenance of hot water systems in all buildings;
	(3)  who is responsible for the enforcement of the amended part G building regulations; and what assessment he has made of the monitoring of adherence to the amended part G building regulations;
	(4)  whether he plans to extend the existing G3 building regulations to cover all bathroom refurbishments where baths have been replaced.

Don Foster: The amendments to Part G and the associated statutory guidance in Approved Document G were introduced in 2010. The changes included a limit on the temperature of water delivered to baths in new homes.
	The Department is planning a post-implementation review of Part G which will consider its impact and effectiveness. The benchmarks used in the review will include the requirements and performance criteria given in Part G and Approved Document G. There are no plans to amend the current requirements until after that review has been completed.
	The responsibility for compliance with Building Regulations, including Part G requirements, falls on the person carrying out the work. Where it is found to be non-compliant by a building control body (local authority or private sector approved inspector) a local authority has the power to take formal enforcement action in appropriate cases.

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the potential effect of the introduction of size criteria in the social rented sector on population density in seaside towns with large numbers of houses in multiple occupation.

Mark Prisk: As the Department responsible for housing benefit, the Department for Work and Pension have published an impact assessment on the social sector size criteria on their website.

Local Government Finance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the like-for-like percentage change in formula funding was between 2012-13 and the provisional allocations for 2013-14 for (a) rural upper tier authorities, (b) urban upper tier authorities, (c) all rural authorities and (d) all urban authorities.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 18 January 2013
	My Department does not publish such figures by both rural classification and local government tier.
	Details of the provisional settlement formula funding figures by local authority can be found at:
	www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/settle.htm

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Direct Selling

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consideration she has given to taking steps to improve the clarity of responsibility between the Information Commission Office and Ofcom with regards to nuisance telephone calls.

Edward Vaizey: In July, I met the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Ofcom and Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and pressed for improved clarity and awareness about their respective roles, in relation to the receipt of unsolicited nuisance marketing calls. Consequently, ICO and Ofcom (and TPS) have significantly improved their available advice through improved website pages, including whom to contact when making a complaint. Also, Ofcom has improved and clarified information that is provided to consumers online at:
	http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/privacy
	and their Consumer Guide signposts the correct place to make a complaint about a range of nuisance calls:
	http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2012/10/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages
	Furthermore, as part of the Department's Communications Review, we also sought views from consumers and business about their concerns in relation to nuisance calls, texts and emails. We are carefully considering responses and will be making known our views through the White Paper, which may follow later this year.

Metropolitan Police

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding her Department allocated to the Metropolitan Police in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; how much she plans to allocate in future years; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has made no allocation of funding to the Metropolitan police in 2010-11, 2011-12 or 2012-13 and has no plans in place, at present, to allocate funds in future years.

Sports: Facilities

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding is available to allow (a) community sports groups and (b) school groups to travel to specialist facilities.

Hugh Robertson: The information is as follows:
	(a) Sport England does not directly fund travel costs, however individual clubs may set aside funding for this specific purpose.
	(b) Sport England does not provide funding for this.

Sports: Facilities

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding is available for the creation of specialist sports facilities in England and Wales.

Hugh Robertson: In England, Sport England’s Places, People, Play Legacy programme is investing £30 million over the next three years to support innovative, large-scale, multi-sport facilities' projects through its Iconic Facilities scheme. Thirteen Iconic projects have been supported to date with potential investment of £20 million.
	Sport is a devolved matter and the Welsh Government are the appropriate body to provide information regarding facilities in Wales.

DEFENCE

Apache Helicopter

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of upgrading an Apache AH64D helicopter to the new variant AH64E; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Attack Helicopter Capability Sustainment Programme is currently in its concept phase. All viable options to maintain operational attack helicopter capability are being investigated. Potential costs are not yet clear and no decisions have been made.

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the total cost of the Network Enabled Airspace Defence and Surveillance project.

Philip Dunne: We do not routinely publish costs for projects which have not passed their main investment decision. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the in-service date is of the Future Capabilities Programme for the Tranche 2 Typhoon.

Philip Dunne: The In-Service Date for the Future Capabilities Programme for Tranche 2 Typhoon is December 2013.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of recent reports of (a) high temperatures on the horizontal tail surfaces at high altitude, (b) problems with transonic wing roll-off, (c) poor image quality in helmet-mounted displays at night, including green glow, and (d) delays in software delivery in the F-35B joint strike fighter programme;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of recent reports of significantly degraded performance in (a) accelerating to Mach speed and (b) the ability to sustain high G force turns by the F-35B aircraft.

Philip Dunne: All aircraft variants of F-35 are currently within the development test phase of the overall programme. The aim of the development test phase is to reveal issues through testing so that solutions can be developed in order to deliver a safe and capable aircraft to the armed forces.
	In each case, issues reported have been investigated and solutions are being developed.

Parking

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what contracts for providing car park management services to his Department are held by private companies;
	(2)  what the total value is of any contracts between his Department and private companies for car park management services in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) South Lanarkshire local authority area.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence does not hold any contracts with private companies for the provision of car park management services.

Private Education

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department were in receipt of continuity of education allowance in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; and what the cost to his Department was of providing this allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

Mark Francois: holding answer 24 January 2013
	The purpose of continuity of education allowance (CEA) is to allow the children of service personnel to achieve a stable education against a background of parental postings both at home, and overseas.
	The amount paid to service personnel based in the UK and overseas for financial years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of personnel receiving CEA Amount paid to personnel in UK (£ million) Amount paid to personnel overseas (£ million) 
			 2009-10 6,020 90.9 20.4 
			 2010-11 6,090 94.6 20.2 
			 2011-12 5,680 89.4 21.5 
		
	
	Elements of CEA are subject to a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Settlement Agreement with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for tax purposes. Therefore, in addition to the money paid to individuals, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) also makes payments to HMRC for tax and national insurance (NI) following the grossing up of CEA. The amounts paid for financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Tax and NI Costs(1) (£ million) 
			 2009-10 65.6 
			 2010-11 (2)83.4 
			 2011-12 78.5 
			 (1) Costs for tax and NI quoted are for all personnel, irrespective of location. (2) The significant increase in tax and NI costs are due to a variety of factors including an increase in the value of the PAYE Settlement with HMRC and changes in Tax Bands.

Shipping

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent review has been undertaken of the Royal Navy's strategic need for (a) roll-on roll-off shipping, (b) merchant vessels and (c) merchant seafarers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his policy is on the Royal Navy's strategic need for merchant ships; and how many vessels meeting that strategic need will entail chartering in each of the next 10 years;
	(3)  what recent review has been undertaken of the effects of employment trends in the Merchant Navy on the Royal Navy's strategic capabilities; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what the reasons were for the decision to reduce the strategic sealift roll-on roll-off fleet.

Philip Dunne: The review of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) strategic sealift requirement, conducted in 2011, concluded that for the movement of cargo by sea, strategic support is primarily provided through the private finance initiative (PFI) strategic sealift service, and that better value for money would be achieved if the number of vessels contracted as part of this PFI was reduced from six to four. The PFI strategic sealift service now comprises four British flagged roll-on/roll-off vessels used for MOD business, manned by British mercantile marine officers and crews. If required, additional sealift capacity is chartered by means of competitive tenders.
	No review has been undertaken on the effects of employment trends in the Merchant Navy on the Royal Navy's strategic capabilities and there are no plans to do so.

EDUCATION

Schools: Sports

Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects the Ofsted report into school sports to be published.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector; Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 16 January 2013
	Your recent Parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector for response.
	I expect that Ofsted’s report, Physical education in schools 2008-12, will be published in February 2013. It will focus on the quality of physical education in schools.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to David Laws MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when he plans to respond to question 109998 tabled on 23 May 2012;
	(2)  when he plans to respond to question 106505 tabled on 9 May 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: The questions referred to by the hon. Member have now been answered.
	PQ 109998 was answered on 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 325W.
	PQ 106505 was answered on 24 January 2013, Official Report, column 397W.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biomass: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the Scottish Government's decision to use planning regulations to reduce the effect of large biomass co- firing and coal conversion on domestic wood suppliers and users; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: DECC Ministers meet regularly with Ministers in the Scottish Government to discuss a range of issues. As has been the case with successive administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Electricity

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  upon what assumptions the modelling scenario in his Department's consultation on electricity market reform were based;
	(2)  whether, in developing its consultation on electricity market reform, his Department gave consideration to any assumptions other than that there would be no short-term impact on investment following a major change of electricity market arrangements;
	(3)  whether, in its consultation on electricity market reform, his Department gave consideration to modelling of the Contracts for Difference on assumptions other than that there are liquid markets and perfect competition.

John Hayes: The analysis of the impact of Electricity Market Reform (EMR) is based on a range of assumptions—such as demand profiles, fossil fuel prices and hurdle rate reductions. These are set out in Annex A on pages 54 to 60 of the January 2013 EMR impact assessment accompanying the Energy Bill, which is available at the following website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66037/7468-contracts-for-difference-energy-bill-2012.pdf
	Hurdle rate reductions used in this latest EMR modelling are derived from my Department's Dynamic Dispatch Model, in conjunction with Oxera's maximum possible hurdle rate reductions (2011):
	http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/Renewables%20Review/Oxera%20low%20carbon%20discount%20rates%20180411.pdf
	Previous analysis presented alongside the EMR consultation document in December 2010 was conducted by Redpoint Energy and can be found at the following address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42638/1043-emr-analysis-policy-options.pdf
	This sets out the assumptions and modelling that was used for the purposes of the consultation.

Electricity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether, in its consultation on electricity market reform, his Department has made an assessment of successful auctions with multiple bidders that have delivered sustained deployment of renewables over the long term as an alternative to its suggested model of Contracts for Difference.

John Hayes: DECC officials have reviewed the effectiveness of competitive processes in other countries for awarding contracts for the deployment of electricity generating plant, including specifically for low-carbon plant.
	DECC has commissioned advice from an expert at Oxford university on designing auctions for deploying low-carbon electricity generation. In addition, DECC has looked at other auction processes for conventional electricity generating plant, including commissioning advice from international consultants and academics.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's press notice 2012/128 of 19 October 2012, on local energy bills, from which departmental budget the funding for (a) Green Deal pioneer projects and (b) Cheap Energy Together was allocated.

Gregory Barker: Where underspends are forecast, DECC has internal processes for re-allocating budget to support departmental priorities.
	The Green Deal is a priority programme and DECC's work with seven core cities had already demonstrated the effectiveness of funding to local authorities to trial aspects of the Green Deal. It was therefore agreed to allocate additional funding to other councils through the Green Deal Pioneer Places competition to support early take up.
	The Cheaper Energy Together scheme was introduced to test and pilot schemes to enable consumers, particularly the most vulnerable, to obtain a better deal on energy bills.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which Minister approved the award of the Green Deal communications contract to Freud PR.

Gregory Barker: I approved the recommendation to appoint Freud Communications, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), based on their score from the tender process conducted via the Government Procurement Service Framework Public Relations RM1712 LOT 1.

Insulation

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of insulation installations which have been (a) placed on hold and (b) cancelled in Wales since the ending of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Test and Community Energy Saving Programme on 31 December 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving programme (CESP) are administered by Ofgem and delivery of measures under the schemes was a matter for the obligated companies concerned. DECC does not have access to any data on measures which companies may have planned to install under CERT and CESP, but which could not be completed by the end of the schemes.
	Obligated companies are also able to offer a range of insulation measures, usually at a subsidised rate or for free, under the new Energy Company Obligation and have been able to do so since 1 October 2012.

Insulation

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many times in the last (a) six and (b) 12 months he has met representatives of the insulation industry.

Gregory Barker: All meetings between external organisations and DECC Ministers are published on a quarterly basis on the DECC section of the:
	www.Gov.uk
	website and are available for download at this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=transparency- data&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=department-of-energy-climate-change&direction=after&date=2011-03-01

Renewable Energy

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has commissioned or evaluated on the effectiveness of existing electricity market auctions with multiple bidders in delivering sustained deployment of renewables over the long-term.

John Hayes: DECC officials have reviewed the effectiveness of competitive processes in other countries for awarding contracts for the deployment of electricity generating plant, including specifically for low-carbon plant.
	DECC has commissioned advice from an expert at Oxford university on designing auctions for deploying low-carbon electricity generation. In addition, DECC has looked at other auction processes for conventional electricity generating plant, including commissioning advice from international consultants and academics.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bees

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with external organisations on bee health.

David Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has not met with any outside bodies on bee health issues. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my noble Friend, Lord de Mauley—whose portfolio includes bee health—attended the launch of the Bee Farmers Association's apprenticeship scheme on 23 January.

Bees: Insecticides

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department is carrying out research into the potential harmful effects of using neonicotinoid insecticides in farming and horticulture on (a) bee colonies and (b) the overall bee population.

Richard Benyon: We take this issue very seriously and have funded a range of work to address gaps in knowledge. We continue to fund a number of research projects on the potential impacts of pesticides on bees and other pollinators which will enable us to develop the way these risks are assessed and regulated. Most recently, projects have been commissioned to follow up academic studies on potential impacts on bumblebees. In addition DEFRA contributes to the insect pollinators initiative, which supports research into the main threats to insect pollinators.

Dairy Farming

Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of the voluntary code of best practice for the dairy industry.

David Heath: The industry code of practice has been agreed and published and is ready to use following months of hard work on all sides. The Government are encouraging dairy farmers and processors to press ahead so that they can start to see the many beneficial terms of the code translated into milk supply contracts.

Dairy Farming

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of dairy farming in the UK.

David Heath: 2012 was a difficult year for many people in the dairy industry. However, farm-gate prices have started to improve and the new code of practice on contracts between farmers and processors provides a major opportunity for improved partnership working to overcome challenges and develop the industry's potential.
	DEFRA is currently consulting on new rules which could allow English dairy farmers to come together and form producer organisations to sell their combined milk to processing companies rather than negotiate as individuals. This will mean that alongside the industry code of practice, producers could have more influence over contractual terms, conditions and prices. A new £5 million dairy fund, offered through the Rural Development Programme for England, will allow farmers to apply for grants to help them co-operate and take advantage of market opportunities.
	The UK currently imports £1.2 billion more dairy produce than it exports, and there is huge potential for growth in domestic and export markets. We are working with the dairy industry and officials at UKTI to explore the potential for developing new markets, including plans for an exports summit.

Dairy Farming

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made by his Department in discussions over a voluntary Code of Practice on contractual relationships between dairy processors and producers.

David Heath: The industry code of practice has been agreed and published is ready to use following months of hard work on all sides. The government is encouraging dairy farmers and processors to press ahead so that they can start to see the many beneficial terms of the code translated into milk supply contracts.

Farming Regulation Task Force

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Farming Regulation Task Force which reported in May 2011.

David Heath: DEFRA is a deregulatory minded Department. Good progress is being made to reduce regulatory burdens on farmers through our response to the Farming Regulation Task Force where, amongst other initiatives, we are working to reduce the burden of on-farm inspections and paperwork. Costs to farmers of complying with regulations are falling; since 2011 for every £1 of new compliance costs, we are removing over £13 of inefficient compliance costs.

Food Composition

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials of his Department work on monitoring food composition; and how many did so in 2010.

David Heath: The Food Standards Agency, and not DEFRA, has responsibility within central Government for food law enforcement, which includes the routine monitoring of foodstuffs to ensure compliance with the legislation on food quality, composition and standards.
	However, the administration of a food authenticity research programme that funds the development of methods to detect food mis-labelling and food fraud was an area of responsibility that transferred from the Food Standards Agency to DEFRA in July 2010 under the Machinery of Government changes. Three posts were transferred from the agency to DEFRA as a result of that change. The methods developed under the food authenticity research programme are used by trading standards officers and public analysts in official control laboratories in carrying out their enforcement duties.

National Parks

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department provided for the National Parks Sustainable Development Fund in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 17 January 2013
	As part of the 2010 corporate spending review, Ministers agreed that the Sustainable Development Fund, previously set at £200,000 per national park authority per year since 2002-03, would no longer be ring-fenced.
	Since 2010-11, this increased flexibility has allowed each national park authority to determine individually how much of its budget to commit to the fund. Ministers fully expect each national park authority to continue to run some form of Sustainable Development Fund grant scheme.

Public Expenditure

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's Business Plan 2011-15 what payments were made by his Department to organisations as part of achieving Priority 3: Support a strong and sustainable green economy in each year since 2008-09.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 7 January 2013
	The information is not available for 2008-09 and 2009-10 and it would be of disproportionate cost to identify payments to organisations made by core DEFRA as part of achieving Priority 3: Support a strong and sustainable green economy, as this covers 700 budget lines.

Slaughterhouses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many horses were brought to slaughter at UK abattoirs in each of the last four years.

David Heath: The number of solipeds/equidae slaughtered at approved red meat establishments in the United Kingdom in each of the last four years is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number slaughtered 
			 2009 5,100 
			 2010 8,854 
			 2011 9,011 
			 2012 9,405

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the effect of the ongoing trials for alleged war crimes related to the 1971 Bangladeshi Independence War on the political situation in that country.

Alistair Burt: The British Government supports the desire of the Government of Bangladesh to hold to account those who may be guilty of crimes committed during the 1971 war and the principle of war crimes trials. We note that the International Crimes Tribunal reached its first judgment in the trial of Abul Kalam Azad on 21 January. With EU partners, we continue to make clear our strong opposition to the application of the death penalty in all circumstances.
	International non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and legal professionals have expressed concerns over the judicial proceedings of the International Crimes Tribunal. Noting these concerns the Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi, has stated that she hoped that the tribunal would address the concerns and ensure the continued integrity and independence of the legal process in Bangladesh. We have called on the Government of Bangladesh, publicly and privately, to ensure that trials meet appropriate international standards. The Senior Minister of State also raised the issue of the war crimes trials with Bangladesh Foreign Minister. Dr Dipu Moni, in December. Officials both in London and our high commission in Dhaka continue to monitor the trials carefully.
	We note reports of protests relating to the War Crimes Trials. All citizens have a right to hold the government to account including through legitimate and peaceful protests. However, violence and vandalism have no place in legitimate protests. I hope that the citizens of Bangladesh choose to raise their concerns or grievances through peaceful means.

Bangladesh

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of religious extremism in Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: We are concerned about reports of attacks on religious communities in Bangladesh. We strongly condemn such incidents of violence and discrimination on individuals or groups because of their religion.
	Religious freedom and the promotion of human rights are at the heart of this Government's foreign policy. We raise our concerns both bilaterally and through the EU. The Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi, raised our concerns in December with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Dipu Moni.
	The British Government is committed to assisting in efforts to combat extremism. As part of our commitment, we work with governments in the region to reduce the risk from terrorism and religious extremists.

Banks: EU Action

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the views of the (a) French and (b) German governments on the (i) establishment of a European banking union and (ii) role of the UK in such a development.

Greg Clark: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	I refer the hon. Member to the Government's Explanatory Memorandum on European Union Documents No. 13682/12,13683/12 and 12854/12 on the Commission's proposal for a Single Supervisory Mechanism and a communication on the road map towards banking union, along with the Government's impact assessment of those proposals.
	Negotiations between the Council of Ministers and European Parliament on the first element of the banking union—the single supervision mechanism—are currently under way, and it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on the views of other member states while this process is ongoing,

China

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with China; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: Our relations with China are broad and increasing in areas of mutual interest: from climate change and financial services, to health care and the arts. At the political level, we have established a set of high-level dialogues between our respective leaders, including the UK-China Summit, our Economic and Financial Dialogue, the Strategic Dialogue discussing foreign policy, and the new People-to-People dialogue discussing culture, sport, media and education. In recognition of the importance of the UK-China relationship, China has been prioritised as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's network shift announced in 2011. We have already started adding around 60 extra staff to our China network and plan to open an additional consulate.
	Trade and investment between our countries is growing. Last year bilateral trade stood at over $70 billion and there were new Chinese investments into the UK worth several billion pounds. Cultural links are deepening. The biggest ever British festival in China, UKNow, provided a showcase in China for the best of British art, music and drama. We are also welcoming more Chinese tourists to the UK, and over 500,000 British nationals now travel to China every year.
	While there is broad cooperation, the UK and China do not agree on everything. We have differing views on issues such as Syria and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which we raise during our bilateral discussions. We continue to raise our concerns over human rights with the Chinese authorities during high-level discussions such as the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. It is in both countries' interest to have a strong, frank and open partnership where differences can be discussed. We look forward to working with China's new leaders to develop a dialogue that is reflective of our growing shared interests.

Costa Rica

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Costa Rica; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The UK and Costa Rica have strong ties and shared values that make us natural partners across a range of issues. We work closely in multilateral fora on climate change and improving human rights. Our work is focused on helping British companies take advantage of the commercial opportunities in Costa Rica across a range of sectors, as well as providing technical support to the Costa Rican Government in a range of areas, including helping to deliver stronger legislation to deal with child pornography. Costa Rica does not have an army, so we have no defence relations.

Mexico

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Mexico; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The UK and Mexico have established an excellent bilateral relationship. Mexico is a strong ally of the UK in Latin America and shares many of our values, including on free trade, international security and climate change. With its growing economy, stable business environment and free market approach, it is able to play a key trade and investment role as a destination for our exports and a source of foreign investment. Our close relationship allows us to discuss a wide range of issues and has enabled us to second UK officials to the Mexican Government on both G20 and climate change work over the past two years. We also cooperate closely on issues such as energy, security, human rights and education, and last year helped to establish Memoranda of Understanding in tourism and health between the appropriate bodies.
	Most recently, we welcomed Mexico's new President, Enrique Pena Nieto, to the UK in October, ahead of his inauguration.

Pakistan

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 775W, on Pakistan, on how many occasions in each of the last 10 years the Government has sought assurances from Pakistan that UK cooperation in counternarcotics operations would not lead to prosecutions resulting in the death penalty; what form have any assurances received taken; and if he has made any assessment of whether these assurances have subsequently been respected by the Government of Pakistan.

Alistair Burt: We are currently compiling information to answer the hon. Member’s question. I will write separately to the hon. Member and place a copy of my response in the Library of the House.

Panama

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the present state of political, cultural, trade and military relations with Panama; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The UK and Panama have a strong bilateral relationship. We cooperate closely on issues such as trade and investment, where our work is focused on helping British companies tap into the opportunities offered by an economy that grew at 11% in 2012. We work with the Panamanian Government to tackle organised crime, in support of the region's security strategy. Earlier this month, for example, our embassy in Panama City hosted a regional conference on fighting financial crime and terrorist funding. We also cooperate on issues such as multilateral foreign policy and education.
	Our close cooperation was cemented by a Memorandum of Understanding, signed in November 2012 during my visit to Panama, which commits both countries to annual high level talks.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

David Lidington: The Department operates both in the UK and across a network of over 260 overseas posts. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has devolved procurement authorities and therefore to gather the total number of contracts could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Since the inception of Contracts Finder in January 2011, the FCC has published 16.4% of our contracts awarded in the UK.

Syria

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to ask the United Nations Security Council for the creation of a no-fly zone in Syria.

Alistair Burt: The United Kingdom is not at present seeking the establishment of a no-fly zone in Syria, though all options remain on the table.
	Our goal remains ensuring full UN Security Council backing for Joint Special Envoy Brahimi and his efforts to fulfil UN efforts on political transition.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by his Department (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session.

David Lidington: Between May and December 2012 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office received 326 questions for answer on a named day. One substantive answer was provided after the named day, which represents 0.3% of all named day questions received during this period. No named day PQs went unanswered.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by his Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

David Lidington: Between May and December 2012, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) received 1041 questions for ordinary written answer. One question received a written answer after 30 days, which represents 0.1% of all parliamentary questions received during this period. No questions went unanswered.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Zimbabwe

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it remains the Government's policy to maintain sanctions on the President of Zimbabwe and certain Zanu-PF members.

Mark Simmonds: Discussions are underway in advance of the annual renewal of the restrictive measures, which will take place in February. In July 2012, EU member states agreed that if there is a peaceful and credible constitutional referendum, then the EU should respond with suspension of the majority of targeted measures. throughout-discussions, the UK position will continue to be guided by the principle that we should respond to concrete progress on the ground, and that all existing sanctions on Zimbabwean individuals should be reviewed to ensure they continue to meet the legal criteria for restrictive measures under the EU regime.
	We believe that President Mugabe himself continues to meet the criteria for restrictive measures set out in EU law and that the situation in Zimbabwe has not improved sufficiently to warrant any discussion of the suspension of measures against him. Ultimately consensus must be reached among the 27 member states.

HEALTH

Bread: Salt

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of average levels of salt in bread sold in the UK in the last five years.

Anna Soubry: According to data collected for the Department in early 2011, the average level of salt in bread was estimated to be 1.0 gram salt /100g. This concurs with data provided to the Department by the Federation of Bakers, the trade body representing bread manufacturers, and meets the current responsibility deal salt reduction target for bread.
	Members of the Federation of Bakers supply 80% of the United Kingdom's bread and estimate they have reduced the amount of salt in plant-baked bread by 23% over the last decade, and by around a 10% reduction in the last three years.

Doctors: Standards

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors that failed their fitness to practice assessment in each of the last five years in England and Wales (a) were trained in a foreign country or (b) possess a foreign qualification.

Daniel Poulter: The General Medical Council is the independent regulator for doctors in the United Kingdom. Its statutory purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.
	The Department does not hold statistics relating to General Medical Council fitness to practise hearings. However, officials have contacted the General Medical Council and the following information has been provided.
	The following table shows statistics for the number of doctors who have received sanctions from the General Medical Council. This is categorised into those who received their Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ) from a country in the European economic area (EEA), and International Medical Graduates who received their PMQ outside of the EEA. These statistics are for the whole of UK and for the past three years. The General Medical Council is not able to provide this information for just England and Wales or in this format for the years prior to 2009.
	
		
			 How many overseas qualified doctors were found to be impaired in the UK? (Including undertakings but excluding warnings and voluntary erasure) 
			  EEA IMG Total 
			 2011    
			 Undertakings (CE) 18 46 64 
			 Erasure 16 29 45 
			 Suspension 14 42 56 
			 Conditions 3 9 12 
			 Undertakings (panel) 0 0 0 
			 Impairment (NFA) 0 1 1 
			 Total 51 127 178 
			     
			 2010    
			 Undertakings (CE) 13 25 38 
			 Erasure 13 36 49 
			 Suspension 13 51 64 
			 Conditions 7 16 23 
			 Undertakings (panel) 1 2 3 
			 Impairment (NFA) 0 2 2 
			 Total 47 132 179 
			     
			 2009    
			 Undertakings (CE) 9 26 35 
			 Erasure 9 32 41 
			 Suspension 6 39 45 
			 Conditions 6 18 24 
			 Undertakings (panel) 0 1 1 
			 Impairment (NFA) 0 4 4 
			 Total 30 120 150

Doctors: Standards

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors underwent a fitness to practice hearing in each of the last five years in England and Wales; and how many such doctors failed the assessment.

Daniel Poulter: The General Medical Council is the independent regulator for doctors in the United Kingdom. Its statutory purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.
	The Department does not hold statistics relating to General Medical Council fitness to practise hearings. However, officials have contacted the General Medical Council and the following information has been provided.
	The following table shows how many doctors in the UK were referred to a fitness to practise hearing in the last five years.
	
		
			  Number of doctors in the UK referred to a fitness to practise hearing 
			 2011 212 
			 2010 314 
			 2009 319 
			 2008 359 
			 2007 196 
		
	
	The following table shows how many doctors were found impaired (including undertakings but excluding warnings, reprimands, and voluntary erasure) in the UK.
	
		
			  Number of doctors found impaired in the UK 
			 2011 185 
			 2010 225 
			 2009 200 
			 2008 154 
			 2007 211 
		
	
	Doctors who were referred to a fitness to practise panel in a certain year, may not be the same doctors that were found impaired by a fitness to practise panel that same year due to the time difference between referral to a panel, and' the panel outcome.

General Practitioners

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether local area teams will be responsible for the accreditation of GPs with a special interest from April 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential role of local area teams in accrediting GPs with a special interest; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 7 January 2013, Official Report, column 102W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford), the current framework for accreditation and re-accreditation is under review. We are considering a number of options, including a role for area teams of the NHS Commissioning Board. Decisions on arrangements from April 2013 will be announced in due course.

Health and Care Professions Council

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any contingency arrangements in place to support the operation of the Health and Care Professionals Council if insufficient funding is derived from fees levied on healthcare professionals.

Daniel Poulter: We are not aware of any concerns that the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has insufficient funds to cover its costs.
	The HCPC is financially independent of Government and pays for the costs of its regulatory functions through fees charged to it registrants.
	The audited annual accounts of the HCPC, which are required to be laid in Parliament, indicate that in 2011-12 it had a net operating surplus of £97,000. A copy of the accounts can be found at:
	www.hpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10003B8AHPCannualreport2011-12.pdf

Health Services: Rural Areas

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how servicing sparsely populated rural communities is being reflected in his Department's formula.

Daniel Poulter: The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a specialist group commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has looked at the issue of the additional cost of delivering services in rural sparsely populated communities repeatedly.
	Other than a small adjustment for emergency ambulance costs, ACRA have never been able to identify evidence that would allow them to quantify the size of an adjustment for sparsely populated rural communities. The funding formula already takes into account that rural areas typically have more elderly populations and age is the prime determinant of need for health care services.
	However, the recommendations published on 10 January, highlight the potential of a new community services dataset, currently under development, to give the first truly evidence’ based insight into the impact of sparsity on the provision of healthcare.
	The NHS Commissioning Board is responsible for allocations to clinical commissioning groups from April 2013.

Lead: Health Hazards

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the human health effects of exposure to lead; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Department has not issued guidance on the human health effects of lead. The Health Protection Agency has issued guidance in the form of a Lead Action Card which is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1274092896741
	Further information on lead incidents is also available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListDate/Page/1274087220619

Medicine: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many UK medical students are predicted to graduate in 2013.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not held by the Department. However, data from the UK Foundation Programme Office, that manages recruitment to the programme, show that 7,808 students have applied to the Foundation programme from United Kingdom, medical schools. The final number progressing to the Foundation programme will depend on the numbers passing final examinations and those withdrawing their applications. Recruitment to the Foundation programme is UK-wide and consequently is the responsibility of the four UK Health Departments.

Medicine: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foundation year places for medical graduates there will be in 2013.

Daniel Poulter: 7,540 foundation programme places were originally planned for 2013 across the United Kingdom, but we are in the process of planning, with Health Education England and the other UK Health Departments, additional posts should they be required, so that all UK medical graduates receive a place on a UK Foundation programme.

Medicine: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what options are available to medical graduates who do not receive a place on a foundation training programme;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Scunthorpe of 14 January 2013, Official Report, column 621W, on medicine: education, what steps he plans to take to ensure that all medical students graduating in 2013 will receive a place on a foundation training programme in 2013.

Daniel Poulter: We are committed to ensuring that all graduates in the United Kingdom receive a place on a foundation training programme in 2013. Recruitment to the Foundation programme is UK-wide and consequently is the responsibility of the four UK Health Departments. We are in the process of planning, with Health Education England and the other UK Health Departments, additional posts should they be required.

NHS Commissioning Board

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how (a) the NHS Commissioning Board and (b) Clinical Commissioning Groups will be held accountable for implementation of the NHS Mandate commitment to offer everyone with a long-term condition a care plan;
	(2)  how the implementation of the NHS Mandate commitment to offer everyone with a long-term condition a care plan by (a) the NHS Commissioning Board and (b) Clinical Commissioning Groups will be measured.

Daniel Poulter: The mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) sets out the Government's ambitions for the health service for the next two years, which includes an objective around offering care plans for those with long-term conditions. The NHS CB is legally required to seek to achieve the objectives in this document.
	It is for the Board to decide how they will carry this out; the Government will hold them to account for the outcomes they achieve.
	The mandate is one part of a wider cycle of accountability for the NHS CB. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (the Act) makes clear that:
	The Board must publish a business plan each year, setting out how it intends to carry out its functions and deliver the objectives and requirements in the mandate.
	The Secretary of State must keep the Board's performance under review, including how it is performing against the mandate.
	The Board must publish a report at the end of each year saying how it has performed.
	The Secretary of State must then publish an assessment of the Board's performance.
	Besides these legal requirements, there will be an ongoing sponsorship relationship between the Department and the Board, which will be outlined in a framework agreement. In particular, the Secretary of State will hold regular formal accountability meetings with the Chair of the Board and the minutes of these meetings will be published.
	The NHS CB will in turn hold clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to account. The Board have recently published a Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set which will drive up quality and provide transparency and accountability about the quality of services that CCGs commission for their patients.
	While the Board will be expected to give CCGs freedom to commission services tailored to the needs of their local population, CCGs will be accountable to the NHS Commissioning Board through an annual performance assessment. This will, in addition to reviewing progress against the Outcomes Indicator Set, assess how well the CCG has met its financial duties and other statutory duties, including its duty to act consistently with the mandate. This will provide a direct line of accountability back to the expectations set out in the mandate. The Board must publish a report annually summarising the results of all its performance assessments of CCGs.

NHS Commissioning Board

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the development of commissioning policies and service specifications by the NHS Commissioning Board, 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to the NHS constitution and patient rights of access to treatments approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and treatment choice;
	(2)  what consideration he has given to guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence;
	(3)  what consideration he has given to their statutory duty to promote innovation and research.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (the Act) places a duty on the National Health Service Commissioning Board (NHS CB) to promote innovation and research and to have regard to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Quality Standards. In addition, the NHS Constitution sets out patients' right to drugs and treatments that have been approved by NICE if they are clinically appropriate for the individual. The Act also places duties on the NHS CB to promote the NHS Constitution. In future, rights in the NHS Constitution will be underpinned by Regulations made under the Act.
	Alongside the statutory duty on the NHS CB to promote innovation and research, the Act allows for regulations to require specified public bodies to have regard to NICE advice or guidance.
	The Secretary of State will hold the NHS CB to account for fulfilling its statutory duties. However, it is for the NHS CB to develop its commissioning policies and service specifications.
	The NHS CB has also issued planning guidance for clinical commissioning groups—Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2013-14. This outlines the incentives and levers that will be used to improve services from April 2013, the first year of the new national health service, where improvement is driven by clinical commissioners. The guidance is published alongside financial allocations to clinical commissioning groups and is accompanied by other documents intended to help local clinicians deliver more responsive health services, focused on improving outcomes for patients, addressing local priorities and meeting the rights people have under the NHS Constitution.

NHS Property Services

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how NHS property services will be held accountable at a local level;
	(2)  whether NHS property services will have to report on a regular basis to local scrutiny committees;
	(3)  how many staff will be employed by NHS Property Services Ltd;
	(4)  what assets he intends to be held by NHS Property Services Ltd;
	(5)  what his policy is on the constitution of NHS Property Services Ltd and the management of any possible issues of conflict of interest within that organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: NHS Property Services Ltd (NHS PS), a limited company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Health, was created to take that part of primary care trusts' (PCT) estate not transferring to national health service providers on 1 April 2013, which is the date when PCTs are being abolished.
	The company's objectives will be to hold property for use by community and primary care services, including for use by social enterprises; deliver value for money property services; cut costs of administering the estate by consolidating the management of over 150 estates; develop and deliver cost-effective property solutions for community health services; and dispose of property surplus to NHS requirements.
	The key benefit of the new model will be the opportunities offered by consolidating assets, skills and experience from 151 PCTs to create an organisation of increased scale and standing which is focused on the efficient management of property. This will in due course deliver improved management of the estate and improved efficiency, which will free up resources to improve properties and frontline services.
	In relation to how NHS PS will be held accountable at a local level, it will be for local health economies and their clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to take decisions as to what properties and related services are provided and where they are located. It will be for NHS PS to work with the local NHS and its commissioners in deciding the need for primary or community care premises and other buildings from which NHS services are provided. . If a need for premises is identified by local CCGs, it will be for NHS PS to respond and offer the necessary site or building.
	In respect of whether NHS PS will have to report on a regular basis to Local Scrutiny Committees, health organisations must seek review by the local authority where proposals result in a service change. New regulations on local authority health scrutiny are being prepared to ensure that any changes to local healthcare are more transparent, and overseen and considered locally. However, these regulations will only apply where health organisations are proposing to change health services and will not apply where the local health economy is considering changes to its estate that do not materially effect the delivery of services.
	With regard to how many staff will be employed by NHS PS, the company has a small board of directors, with most of its staff being at a regional and local level. It has four regional directors, with teams that will work closely with the new NHS structure, with the majority of staff being locally-based and delivering services to patients; NHS staff and the public.
	The precise number of staff to be employed by NHS PS is not yet known. However, it is anticipated that some 3,000 staff working in estates and facilities roles in PCTs and strategic health authorities will transfer under TUPE (Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment) legislation to the company. Staff will transfer on 1 April 2013. The company is recruiting to a further 72 posts to fulfil corporate roles such as in finance, IT and human resources. This type of support has been provided to local estates teams by the PCTs that they are currently part of.
	On assets to be held by NHS PS, work is ongoing, but current analysis has shown that:
	GP surgeries will account for 30% of the assets;
	Support services (eg administration and equipment storage)—24%;
	Hospitals and land—2% each; and
	Health centres—19%.
	Other assets, such as items of equipment needed to deliver a particular service should generally transfer to the service provider or organisation which requires use of them. Where NHS PS provides either landlord and advisory services that PCT estates teams currently provide or manage, the company will take ownership of the associated assets. Likewise, where NHS.PS provides services such as cleaning, catering, pottering, the company will also take ownership of the assets associated with those activities.
	Finally, in relation to the constitution of NHS PS and the management of any possible conflicts of interest, as a limited company, NHS PS will comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 in all respects, including its governance structures and the directors' statutory duties in relation to conflicts of interest. A copy of the Company's Articles of Association, which gives more detail, has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Batteries

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the NHS and private companies working on the NHS estate take to recycle used batteries; and what arrangements are in place to monitor such recycling.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available as the Department does not hold data on the steps healthcare providers take to recycle batteries or associated monitoring.
	The Department has published guidance for the NHS—the “Safe Management of Healthcare Waste—Version 2, England”, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. It identifies appropriate waste segregation and disposal routes which are interpreted locally by each healthcare provider, who undertake assessments to formulate their own policies and procedures for recycling. Guidance on batteries, including those used in implants/medical devices, is included, advising for example that hospitals can, for the collection of batteries:
	1. Liaise with a battery compliance scheme;
	2. Contact their local council to see whether there is an amenity-site or facility nearby that they can use;
	3. Talk to a waste management company licensed to collect batteries; or
	4. Contact their supplier of batteries to discuss collection.

NHS: Finance

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the proposed transfer of debt from primary care trusts to clinical commissioning groups in North Yorkshire.

Daniel Poulter: The NHS operating framework states that clinical commissioning groups will have their own budgets from 2013-14. They will not be responsible for resolving primary care trust (PCT) legacy debt that arose prior to 2011-12.
	Management of PCT legacy debt takes place at strategic health authority cluster region level. The Department expects it to be managed in line with the requirements laid out in the NHS operating framework.

NHS: Finance

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to the possible consequences of the manipulation of Libor for interest rates paid by the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what effect there was on interest rates paid on NHS capital projects financed under the private finance initiative through the manipulation of Libor; what estimate he has made of the cost per scheme to each hospital trust; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which NHS capital projects have been financed under the private finance initiative that could have been affected by the manipulation of Libor by banks; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  whether he is considering taking legal action to recoup any overpayments on interest rates paid on NHS capital projects financed under the private finance initiative as a consequence of the manipulation of Libor; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The issue of Libor rates is clearly a very complicated matter and one which is not directly under the control of this Department. It is however one where very significant resources have already been targeted. As has been very widely reported, a number of banks have already been investigated by the relevant regulatory authorities and fines levied, and it is reported that further investigations are on-going. The Financial Services Authority has completed its own investigation into Libor and the Wheatley Review, commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has also already reported, with the Government accepting the recommendations in full and is now consulting on secondary legislation to implement these.
	It is by no means clear that private finance initiative (PR) projects entered into by institutions in the national health service, have been adversely affected by the manipulation of Libor. In fact, it is reported that at certain times banks’ Libor submissions resulted in a lower declaration of Libor. This may have had the effect of lowering the private sector's borrowing costs, thus reducing the PFI payments required by the NHS body. Whether or not there is a subsequent investigation by the Serious Fraud Office or other body is not a matter for this Department to comment on.

NHS: Pay

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff in Buckinghamshire were paid over (a) £50,000, (b) £65,738 and (c) £100,000 in the last year for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: Between April 2011 and March 2012, the number of staff in Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust paid over:
	(a) £50,000 was 488;
	(b) £65,738 was 318; and
	(c) £100,000 was 147.
	These estimates include staff that would fall into more than one of the categories, ie staff in category (b) are also included in category (a).
	Validated earnings information is not held centrally for national health service staff. These estimates are based on unvalidated data as recorded in the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse.
	Information provided by the ESR Data Warehouse is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system. ESR is the human resources and payroll system that is used by most NHS employers.
	Organisations which do not use ESR include two trusts, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, social enterprises that employ staff following a transfer from the NHS and general practices.
	The data has not been annualised. It includes only those payments related to earnings. The ESR Data Warehouse does not record payments relating to expenses.

NHS: Staff

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) district nurses, (b) health visitors, (c) community psychiatric nurses, (d) community matrons and (e) community learning disabilities nurses were employed by the NHS in each primary care trust area in London in (i) the latest period for which figures are available and (ii) the period 12 months prior to this; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The numbers of staff in each of the specified categories employed by national health service trusts, including primary care trusts (PCTs), in London as at 30 September 2010 and 30 September 2011, are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing staff in the London Strategic Health Authority area by organisation in each specified area of work as at 30 September 2010 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			      Of which: 
			  All specified staff Community Psychiatry Community Learning Disabilities Community Services Community Matron Health visitor District nurses 
			 London Strategic Health Authority area 7,822 2,081 166 5,574 191 1,107 1,093 
			         
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 18 — — 18 — — — 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 7 — — 7 — — — 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 5 — — 5 — — — 
			 Barnet PCT 179 — 3 176 5 66 74 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust 205 205 — — — — — 
			 Bexley Care Trust 4 — — 4 — — 2 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 168 — 10 159 3 31 48 
			 Bromley PCT 229 — 24 205 6 54 46 
			 Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust 122 117 4 1 — — 1 
			 Camden PCT 76 — — 76 3 15 6 
			 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 10 9 1 — — — — 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 227 5 6 216 2 46 21 
			 Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 194 — — 194 9 45 71 
			 Croydon PCT 30 — — 30 — — 16 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 2 — — 2 — — — 
			 Ealing PCT 201 1 3 197 11 43 27 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust 209 209 — — — — — 
			 Enfield PCT 177 — 7 170 9 32 77 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust 53 — — 53 — 40 — 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 209 — 1 208 6 27 60 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 30 3 1 26 2 5 3 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 132 — 8 123 9 — 47 
			 Harrow PCT 123 — 5 118 4 28 41 
			 Havering PCT 398 — 8 391 12 62 101 
			 Hillingdon PCT 184 — 2 182 10 38 11 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 3 2 — 1 — — — 
			 Hounslow PCT 2 — — 2 — — 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Islington PCT 180 19 1 160 — 24 28 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 520 2 14 504 27 95 50 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Kingston PCT 0 — — 0 — — — 
			 Lambeth PCT 233 — 1 232 6 31 25 
			 Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 49 — — 49 11 6 — 
			 Lewisham PCT 158 — — 158 11 34 59 
			 London Strategic Health Authority 2 — — 2 — — — 
			 Newham PCT 213 — 4 209 — 39 68 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust 479 298 6 175 8 1 13 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 11 — — 11 — 3 1 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 398 212 14 172 — 26 12 
			 Redbridge PCT 69 — 10 59 — 35 — 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 258 — 5 253 12 60 74 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 16 — — 16 — — — 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 674 666 5 2 — — — 
			 South London Healthcare NHS Trust 13 — — 13 — 1 — 
			 South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust 194 192 2 0 — — — 
			 Southwark PCT 193 — 3 190 4 48 19 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 272 — 4 268 9 39 30 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 229 — 4 224 7 66 14 
			 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust 9 1 — 8 — — — 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 194 — 4 190 3 50 31 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 9 2 1 6 — — — 
			 Wandsworth PCT 12 — — 12 — — 3 
			 West London Mental Health NHS Trust 136 136 — — — — — 
			 Westminster PCT 5 — — 5 — — — 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 3 — — 3 — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Your Healthcare 90 — 6 84 2 16 15 
			 ‘—’ = zero Notes: 1. As a consequence of TCS (Transforming Community Services) the former provider arm of some PCTs may have transferred into local acute trusts, this can be seen in the large increase in staff numbers at Ealing Hospital NHS Trust for example. 2. Community Matrons, Health Visitors and District Nurses work exclusively in the Community Services area of work. This area of work also includes Nurse Consultants, Modern Matrons, Nurse Managers, RSCNs, Other first level nurses and Other second level nurses who are not separately identified in this table. 3. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. 
		
	
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing staff in the London Strategic Health Authority area by organisation in each specified area of work as at 30 September 2011 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			      Of which: 
			  All specified staff Community Psychiatry Community Learning Disabilities Community Services Community Matron Health visitor District nurses 
			 London Strategic Health Authority area 7,571 1,999 144 5,428 157 1,086 1,037 
			         
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 15 — — 15 — — — 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 2 — — 2 — — — 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 6 — — 6 — — — 
			 Barnet PCT 160 — 9 151 5 36 13 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust 375 212 5 158 — 37 15 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust 182 — 5 177 1 39 28 
			 Bexley Care Trust 6 — — 6 — — — 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 9 — — 9 — — — 
			 Bromley PCT 207 — 10 197 6 47 44 
			 Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust 111 106 4 1 — — 1 
			 Camden PCT 110 — — 110 4 21 11 
			 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust 8 8 1 — — — — 
			 Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust 457 1 20 436 17 90 42 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 21 — — 21 — — 3 
			 Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 198 0 — 198 7 43 83 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 478 1 10 467 16 106 114 
			 Ealing PCT 9 — — 9 — 2 5 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust 388 178 5 206 1 37 70 
		
	
	
		
			 Enfield PCT 1 — — 1 — — 1 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 4 — — 4 — — 1 
			 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 401 — 3 398 10 91 39 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 9 — — 9 1 — 0 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 10 — — 10 3 — — 
			 Havering PCT 366 — 7 358 12 56 162 
			 Hillingdon PCT 187 — 2 185 11 39 12 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 213 2 2 209 3 48 10 
			 Hounslow PCT 2 — — 2 — — 1 
			 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Islington PCT 5 — — 5 — — 1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 3 — — 3 — — — 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2 — — 2 — 1 — 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Lambeth PCT 2 — — 2 — — — 
			 Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 133 — — 133 10 22 61 
			 Lewisham PCT 84 — — 84 11 22 9 
			 London Strategic Health Authority 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust 487 292 6 189 8 35 14 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 13 — — 13 — 4 1 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 592 221 14 357 — 48 66 
			 Redbridge PCT 67 — 9 58 — 25 — 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 238 — 4 234 11 41 87 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 21 — — 21 — — — 
			 Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 620 614 5 — — — — 
			 South London Healthcare NHS Trust 15 — — 15 — 1 1 
			 South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust 224 219 5 — — — — 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 301 — 4 297 8 55 34 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 210 — 1 209 6 60 18 
			 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust 10 1 1 8 — — — 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 4 — — 4 — — — 
			 Wandsworth PCT 29 — — 29 — 1 9 
			 West London Mental Health NHS Trust 135 135 — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 6 — — 6 — — — 
			 Westminster PCT 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 35 — — 35 — — — 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 300 9 7 284 5 60 69 
			 Your Healthcare 92 — 6 86 2 19 13 
			 ‘—’ = zero Notes: 1. As a consequence of TCS (Transforming Community Services) the former provider arm of some PCTs may have transferred into local acute trusts, this can be seen in the large increase in staff numbers at Ealing Hospital NHS Trust for example. 2. Community Matrons, Health Visitors and District Nurses work exclusively in the Community Services area of work. This area of work also includes Nurse Consultants, Modern Matrons, Nurse Managers, RSCNs, Other first level nurses and Other second level nurses who are not separately identified in this table. 3. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Nurses

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers have had on mandatory nurse staffing levels; and what evidence has been presented of a direct link between the number of registered nurses and the quality of care and patient outcomes.

Daniel Poulter: Ministers have regular discussions on a range of issues relating to the national health service, including staffing levels. However, decisions on the appropriate work force needed to deliver high quality care must be taken locally and it is the responsibility of local professional leadership teams to determine appropriate staffing levels.
	Any changes to any staffing levels and skill mix must be made in a way which ensures that the safety and quality of services to patients is maintained as required in the NHS Operating Framework.
	With regards to evidence of any direct link between registered nursing numbers and the quality of care and health outcomes. Research has been conducted by various organisations into such relationships. For example, in 2009 the National Nursing Research Unit, located at King's College London, examined existing evidence, from both the United Kingdom and internationally. While in 2010, the Royal College of Nursing also published guidance and a policy position on staffing levels.
	There are now over 6,000 more qualified clinical staff working than there were in May 2010. The nursing, midwifery and care strategy led by the NHS Commissioning Board Chief Nursing Officer and the Department of Health Director of Nursing is very clear that trust boards should publish staffing levels and the evidence to show that the numbers are right for the services they deliver and the patients they care for. We fully support this.

Obesity

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) the present level of obesity in the population and (b) the projected level of obesity in 2030.

Anna Soubry: The Department has not made an estimate of the current or projected cost of obesity to the public purse.
	However, an analysis of the economic burden of a range of risk factors for chronic disease estimated that overweight and obesity cost the national health service £5.1 billion per year. The Foresight programme, which is part of the Government Office for Science, published “Tackling Obesities: Future Choices” in 2007. This report estimated the cost of obesity and overweight to society and the economy was almost £16 billion in 2007, with a potential to rise to just under £50 billion in 2050 if the increase in obesity rates were to continue unchecked.

Pharmacy: Standards

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacists that failed their fitness to practice assessment in each of the last five years in England and Wales (a) were trained in a foreign country and (b) possess a foreign qualification.

Daniel Poulter: The General Pharmaceutical Council is the independent regulator for pharmacists in the United Kingdom. Its statutory purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of the public by upholding standards and public trust in pharmacy.
	The Department does not hold statistics relating to General Pharmaceutical Council fitness to practise hearings. However, officials have contacted the General Pharmaceutical Council and the following information has been provided.
	The following table sets out details of the number of pharmacists in England and Wales who gained their qualification in pharmacy outside the UK and whose fitness to practise was found to be impaired by the General Pharmaceutical Council's Fitness to Practise Committee at a fitness to practise hearing:
	
		
			 Pharmacists with a pharmacy qualification from outside the UK whose fitness to practise was found to be impaired at a fitness to practise hearing 
			  Number 
			 2010 8 
			 2011 10 
			 2012 5 
			 Total 23 
		
	
	Data from 2008 and 2009, before the General Pharmaceutical Council came into operation, is not readily available.

Pharmacy: Standards

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacists underwent a fitness to practice hearing in each of the last five years in England and Wales; and how many such pharmacists failed the assessment.

Daniel Poulter: The General Pharmaceutical Council is the independent regulator for pharmacists in the United Kingdom. Its statutory purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of the public by upholding standards and public trust in pharmacy.
	The Department does not hold statistics relating to General Pharmaceutical Council fitness to practise hearings. However, officials have contacted the General Pharmaceutical Council and the following information has been provided.
	The table sets out details of the number of fitness to practise hearings involving pharmacists in England and Wales held each year since 2010(1), when the General Pharmaceutical Council was established. It also includes the number of hearings in which the pharmacist's fitness to practise was found to be impaired by the Fitness to Practise Committee:
	(1) The figures given include principal fitness to practise hearings only and do not include review hearings, in which a previous sanction is reviewed by the Fitness to Practise Committee.
	
		
			  Number of fitness to practise hearings involving pharmacists in England and Wales(1) Number of hearings in which the pharmacist's fitness to practise was found to be impaired 
			 2010 49 45 
			 2011 79 74 
			 2012 52 48 
			 Total 180 167 
			 (1) The registrant's postal address has been used to identity their country of residence. Note: Data from 2008 and 2009, before the General Pharmaceutical Council came into operation, is not readily available.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has advertised 132 (100%) procurement opportunities on Contracts Finder since the website's inception in January 2011.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to his Department's document on the value for money addendum to the strategic outline case for the national proton beam therapy service development programme, section 4.5, whether he has discussed the commissioning of Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) with his counterparts in the devolved administrations; whether an agreement has been reached with the devolved administrations to fill the shortfall in English patients requiring PBT; what plans he has to mitigate any financial loss to the NHS in England if the devolved administrations are unable to meet their PBT patient quota; and whether any tariff has been agreed with the devolved administrations for PBT;
	(2)  with reference to his Department's document on the value for money addendum to the strategic outline case for the national proton beam therapy service development programme, section 4.15, what the estimated per patient cost of proton therapy would be if one proton machine is commissioned and treats approximately 675 patients per annum.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not held any discussions on the commissioning of proton beam therapy (PBT) with his counterparts in the devolved administrations.
	Commissioners of PBT services in England have held early discussions with their own counterparts in Scotland and Wales. The trusts have factored in the potential requirements from the devolved nations for planning purposes. The trusts will also be able to offer treatment to overseas patients should there be any spare capacity at the two facilities. No tariff has been agreed at this stage, as set out in paragraph 4.15 of the value for money addendum.
	The costs of treating approximately 675 patients per annum using one machine have not been assessed. Sections 4.12-4.14 of the value for money addendum to the strategic outline case (SOC) set out the option for one PBT machine. If one machine were commissioned, priority would be given to treating the most complex cases, which are more resource intensive, both in terms of inputs to care and length of time per radiotherapy treatment fraction. Under these circumstances throughput would not be expected to exceed 400 patients per annum. The estimated per patient cost of one machine treating up to 400 patients per annum is approximately £61,000, as set put in section 4.13 of the value for money addendum.
	Paragraph 4.11 highlights that the per patient costs of PBT estimated for the SOC are subject to several unknowns. A SOC applies to the scoping stage of investment and so the costs included are indicative. The costs included in the value for money addendum reflect the information available at the time of submission. The purpose of a SOC is to provide stakeholders with an early indication of the proposed way forward for investment. The subsequent outline business case (OBC) is the detailed planning phase of investment. The trusts hosting the national service are preparing OBCs, underpinned by a cooperation agreement with the Department and the NHS Commissioning Board to ensure the requirements of the national service are addressed.

Strokes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the future availability of left atrial appendage occlusion devices for the treatment of patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and at high risk of stroke; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has made no assessment.
	From April 2013 the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning specialist cardiac services.
	Currently a public consultation is under way on a range of draft service specifications and commissioning policies covering the prescribed specialised services falling within the NHS Commissioning Board's direct commissioning responsibilities. The closing date for this consultation is 25 January 2013.
	Publication of the agreed 2013-14 service specifications, including the specification covering specialist cardiac services, is expected in March.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by his Department (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by his Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session;

Daniel Poulter: As of 22 January 2013, the Department received 2,294 questions for ordinary written answer. Of these, 2,276 (99%) were answered within five sitting days. None were answered later than 30 days or remain unanswered in this session.
	As of 22 January 2013, the Department received 900 questions for written answer on a named day. Of these, 886 (98%) were answered on the named day. The remaining 14 (2%) were answered one day later than the named day. None remain unanswered in this session.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

HOME DEPARTMENT

Deportation: Offenders

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners, on completion of their sentence, were deported via London Gatwick airport in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012, or the nearest equivalent reporting cycles.

Mark Harper: The following table shows the number of foreign prisoners who on completion of their sentence were deported via London Gatwick airport for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. These data are internal management information data. They are provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 FNOs removed from Gatwick 504 674 716 (1)891 
			 (1) 2012 data are up until the 24 September 2012

Drugs: Pakistan

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 774W, on Pakistan, which other countries the UK has provided counternarcotics assistance to in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: Her Majesty's Government has provided counter narcotics assistance to a range of international partners in each of the last 10 years. We have done so to tackle the international drugs trade and minimise the threat it poses to the UK. It is important to protect activities which form part of the UK's contribution to the international counter narcotics effort and to respect the principle that international partners are able to operate in secrecy on matters of national security against organised crime. As such, it is our policy not to disclose details of our counter narcotics work, as to do so risks reducing its effectiveness and damaging international relations.

Entry Clearances: Belarus

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Belarusian nationals (a) applied for and (b) were refused visas for entry into the UK by her Department's Consulate at the British Embassy in Minsk in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The following table shows how many Belarusian nationals (a) applied for and (b) were refused visas for entry into the UK at the British embassy in Minsk in each of the last 10 years.
	
		
			  Belarus nationals 
			 Report year Applications Refused 
			 2004 10,956 534 
			 2005 10,809 442 
			 2006 10,490 495 
			 2007 10,596 605 
			 2008 9,518 734 
			 2009 8,244 867 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 8,014 982 
			 2011 8,661 587 
			 Grand total 77,288 5,246 
		
	
	Electronic records and statistical data only go back to 2004. To provide a complete answer to the question tabled would require the examination of individual records, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Business

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how her Department distinguishes between people who want to obtain UK visas for (a) business purposes and (b) other reasons.

Mark Harper: Different visit categories for visa purposes are outlined in the Immigration Rules. The business visit category outlines permitted activities for film crews, news media, academic and religious workers, consultants, trainers as well as listing permitted categories for general business purposes such as attending meetings or arranging deals.
	Those who want to invest in the UK by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in running of, a business or businesses may enter the UK by applying for tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa.
	Student graduates may also apply for a tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa if they have outstanding business ideas that they wish to put into practice.
	Other reasons for visits are also outlined in legislation. We have separate visa categories for:
	Visiting friends/tourism
	Student visa
	Sportsperson
	Entertainer
	Marriage/Civil partnership
	Medical treatment
	Transiting the UK
	Details of each category can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/

Illegal Immigrants: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many business establishments in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire have been visited by the UK Border Agency to investigate the employment of illegal foreign national workers in each year since 2008; and in which businesses such illegal workers have been found.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency does not collate information centrally on the number of arrests as a result of illegal working enforcement visits specifically by constituency or at county level. However, information is available relating to activity at a regional level for the North West.
	Since January 2008, the UK Border Agency made the following number of arrests as a result of illegal working enforcement visits in the North West:
	
		
			 Number of illegal working enforcement visits, North West 
			  Number 
			 2008 874 
			 2009 495 
			 2010 728 
			 2011 595 
			 2012 (1)— 
			 (1) Calendar year information not currently available. Note: This is internal management information. It is provisional and is subject to change.

Illegal Immigrants: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals who were found to be working illegally in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire in each year since 2008 have been deported.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency does not collate information centrally on the number of arrests as a result of illegal working enforcement visits specifically by constituency or at county level. However, information is available relating to activity at a regional level for the North West.
	Since January 2008, the UK Border Agency made the following number of arrests as a result of illegal working enforcement visits in the North West:
	
		
			 Number of arrests as a result of illegal working enforcement visits, North West 
			  Number 
			 2008 446 
			 2009 329 
			 2010 383 
			 2011 341 
			 2012 (1)— 
			 (1) Calendar year information not currently available. Note: Information displayed relates to a count of arrests and not individuals. This is internal management information. It is provisional and subject to change. 
		
	
	Information relating to the number of arrests, as a result of illegal working enforcement visits, does not include arrests where a tactical decision has been made to target a suspected immigration offender at a residential address rather than an employer's address. The volume of arrests made year on year does not take into consideration complex operational activity against individuals of significance who have committed high harm activity in the United Kingdom.

Immigration: Married People

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for marriage visas to non-EU citizens were (a) received and (b) fully processed by her Department in (i) August and (ii) September 2012.

Mark Harper: holding answer 24 January 2013
	Information on the total number of entry clearance visa applications and entry clearance visas resolved (total decisions) is currently published annually. Corresponding information for 2012 on a quarterly basis, is planned to be published on 28 February 2013, as part of the Home Office's quarterly immigration statistics release.
	The figures for visas relating to partners provided in response to this question and appearing in the following table provide the latest available published statistics (2011) for entry clearance visa applications, entry clearance visas resolved (total decisions), and (2012 Q1 to Q3) for entry clearance visas issued.
	
		
			 Entry clearance visas for partners: applications, resolved(1), issued and refused, 2011 
			    Of which: 
			 Family route Applications Total resolved Issued Refused Withdrawn or lapsed 
			 Partner 36,205 40,499 33,480 6,765 254 
			 Partner (for settlement)(2) 1,559 1,505 1,324 164 17 
			 Total 37,764 42,004 34,804 6,929 271 
		
	
	
		
			 Family route entry clearance visas for partners issued, 2012 Q1 and Q2 and Q3 
			 Family route 2012 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 
			 Partner 8,022 7,995 7,678 
			 Partner (for settlement)(2) 318 307 242 
			 Total 8,340 8,302 7,920 
			 (1) The information provided relates to applications received and cases resolved in the calendar year 2011. Some applications received may be resolved in a subsequent year. (2) Relates to visas issued for indefinite leave to enter the United Kingdom. Notes: Figures for visa applications and resolutions are currently published on annual basis in the release Immigration Statistics. Source: Immigration Statistics, July to September 2012 
		
	
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in the release Immigration Statistics July-September 2012, which is available from the Library of the House and on the Department's website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q3-2012/

Intelligence Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 419W, on intelligence services, whether the UK has at any point in each of the last 10 years shared intelligence regarding drug trafficking with Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iran via the QUAD forum;
	(2)  what the functions and aims of the QUAD forum are.

Jeremy Browne: The QUAD forum was a quadrilateral initiative between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the UK that met irregularly to discuss strategic and operational deconfliction on drug trafficking issues, particularly with a view to encouraging regional cooperation. No meetings of this forum have taken place since 2005.

Police: Football

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the possible effect of the High Court decision of 24 July 2012 in the case of Leeds United Football Club Ltd and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire police on police budgets;
	(2)  what plans she has to review the legal framework governing the recovery of special police services following the High Court decision of 24 July 2012 in the case of Leeds United Football Club Ltd and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.

Damian Green: holding answer 24 January 2013
	The Home Office, in consultation with other Government Departments, is currently considering the possible effect of the High Court decision of 24 July 2012. The actual cost of policing at events such as football matches is determined by individual police and crime commissioners in negotiation with the event organiser—not by the Home Office. We are always looking for ways to ensure best value for policing. As part of this we are reviewing the police charging policy including the existing legislative framework. The work will be completed in due course.

UK Border Agency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the United Kingdom Border Agency does not have a general process or target time for investigating missing documents and informing the applicant of the outcome.

Mark Harper: holding answer 21 January 2013
	Where customers make complaints to the UK Border Agency about missing documents this is dealt with as a service complaint. The agency aims to investigate, and inform the customer of the outcome, of 95% of complaints within 20 working days.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Conditions of Employment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of staff in her Department currently work (a) part-time, (b) in a job-share or (c) in another flexible working arrangement.

Alan Duncan: As at 31 December 2012, 8.5 % of home civil service (HCS) staff in post within DFID worked part-time hours.
	DFID offers flexible working hours and other flexible working arrangements such as job-share; term-time working and compressed hours which are agreed directly with line managers according to business suitability. No central records are held of staff using each of these flexible working arrangements and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost to the organisation.

Japan

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK provided any (a) financial and (b) other aid to Japan following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Alan Duncan: In response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011 the UK provided a deployment of a 59-strong UK search and rescue team at a cost of £843,426; and the provision of 100 tonnes of bottled water, sourced from Hong Kong, at a cost of £232,443. This UK response helped to fill gaps in its humanitarian need which Japan found it difficult to meet itself, and which were specifically requested by the Japanese authorities. No financial assistance was provided to the Japanese Government.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 5 December 2012 from the Rt hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms G Tsakiri.

Justine Greening: The response has been sent.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries receiving UK aid she considers to have made no progress towards graduating from receipt of that aid since 2010.

Alan Duncan: Graduation from aid needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis and may depend on a number of factors including income levels, per capita growth prospects, poverty rates, the effectiveness by which growth translates into poverty reduction and the availability of alternative sources of affordable development finance.
	Poverty rates are rarely, measured annually by countries so it is not possible to state with certainty how poverty has changed over the short-term.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries receiving aid from her Department she expects to graduate from receiving that aid within the life of this Parliament.

Alan Duncan: In a statement to Parliament on 9 November the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), announced that we have agreed with India to move to a new development relationship, including agreeing to end our traditional financial grant aid programme to India. For more information on the decision I refer the Member to the Secretary of State's written ministerial statement of 9 November 2012, Official Report, column 51WS.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of progress of those countries receiving aid from her Department in graduating from receipt of that aid.

Alan Duncan: For the 28 countries in which DFID works directly, progress, significant changes in the context within which a country is operating and its development results are updated and reported annually within DFID's published country operational plans and in DFID's annual report.

Senior Civil Servants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in her Department have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.

Alan Duncan: Within DFID, since May 2010, of the 31 staff in the three most senior grades there were (a) three resignations (9.7%); (b) four voluntary early retirements (12.9%); (c) No leavers who left the Department for alternative employment (0%); (d) No dismissals (0%); (e) No staff who have taken long-term sick leave (0%) and (f) No staff who have taken administrative leave (0%); amongst staff employed in our three most senior grades.

JUSTICE

Criminal Proceedings

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the exercise by judges of their power to adjourn proceedings in criminal cases; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals to impose restrictions on the right of judges to adjourn proceedings in criminal cases.

Helen Grant: The power to adjourn criminal proceedings is a matter of judicial discretion, and it would not be appropriate for the Government to restrict its exercise. Proper use of the power to adjourn is essential to good case management, which is one of the main objectives of the Criminal Procedure Rules and something that the senior judiciary are keen to encourage.

Employment Tribunals Service

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunals have taken place relating to zero-hour contracts in each of the last three years.

Helen Grant: Information on the number of employment tribunal complaints involving zero-hour contracts is not held centrally. It could only be collated by manually examining individual tribunal files. Accordingly, it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, complaints relating to zero-hour contracts would be categorised by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service as falling within the National Minimum Wage and or Working Time jurisdictions, as recorded in the statistics published annually and quarterly by the Ministry of Justice.
	For the purpose of answering this question, we have assumed the term 'taken place' to mean complaints which have been disposed of by the Tribunal.
	The following table shows the number of National Minimum Wage and Working Time complaints which have been disposed of.
	
		
			 Disposals by employment tribunal for National Minimum Wage and Working Time claims 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			 Nature of Claim Number 
			 National Minimum Wage  
			 2009-10 410 
			 2010-11 600 
			 2011-12 520 
			   
			 Working Time  
			 2009-10 20,500 
			 2010-11 24,100 
			 2011-12 23,600 
			 Note: Figures in the table are rounded independently (values below 100 are not rounded, values above 100 to 999 are rounded to the nearest 10 and values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest l00). Source: ET Annual Statistics 2009-10 to 2011-12

Fines: Wales

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the total value of fines and orders issued by courts in Blaenau Gwent in 2011-12 is that have not yet been collected;
	(2)  how much money raised from fines and orders issued by courts was used to pay for compensation to victims of crimes in Blaenau Gwent in 2011-12.

Helen Grant: The value of financial impositions and confiscation orders imposed in Gwent in 2011/12 and outstanding at the end of the period is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Imposed April 2011 to March 2012 Balance outstanding(1) as at end of March 2012 
			 Financial impositions(2) 4,992,045 2,725,631 
			 Confiscation orders 953,695 483,805 
			 (1 )The balance outstanding includes the balance on accounts that are being paid by instalments and accounts that were not due for payment by the end of March 2012. (2) Financial impositions include fines, cost orders, compensation orders and victim surcharge orders 
		
	
	The value of compensation recovered in Gwent for orders imposed during 2011/12 and collected by the end of that period was £192,665. This is made up of £135,830 from fines related compensation orders and £56,835 from confiscation orders.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 so that small and medium-sized businesses who have been mis-sold interest rate swap products have access to costs protection in any legal case.

Helen Grant: Costs protection—in the form of qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS)—is being introduced from April 2013 for personal injury cases (including clinical negligence) only. The Government announced on 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 39WS, that it will delay implementation of the provisions in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 for defamation and privacy proceedings until a costs protection regime has been developed.
	Costs protection will not be available in other proceedings when the relevant provision in Part 2 of the Act comes into effect on 1 April 2013. However, the Government will keep under review whether to introduce costs protection in other areas of litigation, in the light of the experience of QOCS.

Small Claims

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many cases were allocated to the small claims track in 2012; and on how many such case judgements were made;
	(2)  how many applications were made for (a) a warrant of execution against debtor's goods, (b) an attachment of earnings order, (c) a charging order against a debtor's property and (d) a third party debt order in respect of judgements made in the small claims track in 2012.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice holds statistical information in relation to the number of cases allocated to the small claims track and the number of such cases where judgements were made for the first three quarters of 2012. In the first three quarters of 2012, a total of 46,726 cases were allocated to the small claims track, and for 13,326 of these cases judgements were made during 2012. The low proportion of cases where judgements were made is because most cases allocated to track are still being processed, or were settled or withdrawn before judgements are made.
	In the first three quarters of 2012:
	(a) 75,635 applications were made for a warrant of execution against a debtors goods;
	(b) 52,305 applications were made for an attachment of earnings order;
	(c) 50,938 applications were made for a charging order against a debtors property and
	(d) 83 applications for a third party debt order in respect of judgment made in the small claims track.
	All the figures listed above are currently provisional and the fourth quarter data is not yet available.

SCOTLAND

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

David Mundell: Other than minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice, Since May 2010, only one contract has been issued directly by the Scotland Office, and this was issued to the Royal Mail during the Scottish Parliament elections. The requirements of that contract, which were subject to article 61 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010, meant that it was not appropriate to advertise on the Contracts Finder website.

Public Expenditure

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 779W, on official hospitality, what specific steps his Department has taken to reduce costs since May 2010.

David Mundell: Since May 2010, all expenditure incurred by the Scotland Office has been subject to rigorous examination. Specifically we have reduced costs by utilising framework contracts between suppliers and other Government bodies to achieve maximum savings, by cancelling the contract for the ministerial car in London, and by sharing accommodation space with other Government bodies.

TRANSPORT

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much additional money was made available by his Department to (a) each local authority in the UK and (b) North Yorkshire County Council for road repairs in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport provides funding to local authorities in England which can be used for road repairs through highways maintenance and integrated transport block grants. This funding is not ring-fenced and allows authorities, including North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for the local road network, the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit its priorities. The funding for road repairs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective administrations.
	The following table highlights the funding we provided through these block grants between 2009-10 and 2011-12:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Highways maintenance block:    
			 English local authorities outside London 777 836 806 
			 North Yorkshire county council 21.7 23.5 25.3 
			 Integrated transport block:    
			 English local authorities outside London 589 451 350 
			 North Yorkshire county council 8.6 6.4 4.6 
		
	
	Tables have been placed in the Library of the House setting out the additional funding the Department for Transport has allocated to local highway authorities in England, including North Yorkshire County Council, in both 2010 and 2011 for road repairs following severe winter weather. North Yorkshire received £2.6 million in March 2010 and £6.6 million in March 2011.
	In addition we announced in December 2012 a further £215 million for highways maintenance to be allocated over the next two financial years (2013-14 and 2014-15). North Yorkshire will receive £3.9 million in 2013-14 and £2.1m in 2014-15. A table setting out this information has been placed in the Library of the House.

Transport

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set local authorities in (a) Derbyshire, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) Sheffield City region to determine the allocation of major transport scheme resources.

Norman Baker: We have now provided indicative funding figures to enable local transport bodies to develop their programmes of local transport infrastructure in readiness for the devolution of funds from 2015. The boundaries of the local transport bodies in these particular areas have not yet been determined and we continue to look to local partners to reach a consensus on this. We have not set them a timetable for this but we would expect it to be informed by the governance review that is being undertaken by the Sheffield City Region. Firm funding allocations for local major transport schemes will be determined following future spending rounds within Government.
	A written statement to the House on this subject was made on 23 January 2013 and is available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/devolution-of-funding-for-local-major-transport-schemes-indicative-funding

TREASURY

Corporation Tax: Duchy of Cornwall

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the tax status and eligibility for corporation tax of the Duchy of Cornwall.

David Gauke: The tax arrangements for the Duchy of Cornwall are set out in the Memorandum of Understanding on Royal Taxation, attached to the Report of the Royal Trustees published on 11 February 1993 (HC464) and subsequently amended.

Motor Vehicles

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of (a) UK exports of cars to the EU and (b) UK imports of cars from the EU was; and what the value of (i) UK exports of cars to the rest of the world and (ii) UK imports of cars from the rest of the world was in each of the last 30 years.

Sajid Javid: holding answer 24 January 2013
	The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 UK trade in motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons for the period 1996 to 2012 
			 £ million 
			  UK exports to the EU UK imports from the EU UK exports to outside the EU UK imports from outside the EU 
			 1996 5,612 9,554 2,991 1,769 
			 1997 5,689 11,290 3,181 2,318 
			 1998 6,245 11,728 2,537 2,354 
			 1999 6,994 12,560 2,711 2,396 
			 2000 6,179 11,728 3,118 2,195 
			 2001 4,988 14,666 3,168 2,435 
			 2002 5,621 15,725 4,879 2,678 
			 2003 6,186 15,899 5,185 3,018 
			 2004 6,955 16,233 5,280 3,017 
			 2005 7,478 16,775 5,798 2,677 
			 2006 7,509 17,572 5,292 2,166 
			 2007 8,633 19,579 5,807 2,466 
			 2008 8,332 17,756 7,040 1,991 
			 2009 6,860 15,257 4,975 1,332 
			 2010 7,736 18,348 9,403 1,903 
			 2011 8,846 19,374 11,319 2,136 
			 2012 7,314 18,380 12,301 1,977 
			 Notes: 1. Trade is presented on a general trade basis. 2. EU trade includes Below Threshold Trade Allocation (BTTA) at a monthly level. 3. 2012 data are January to November 2012 year date inclusive and subject to update. 4. Trade data prior to 1996 are not available electronically. Source: Overseas Trade Statistics, HM Revenue and Customs 
		
	
	The data provided are for trade recorded within the sub-heading ‘8703’ in the tariff product classification system. The ‘8703’ heading covers ‘motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons’.
	The definition of the ‘EU’ will have changed over the period displayed, with the EU having gone through enlargement during this time, e.g. with 10 additional member states joining the EU in May 2004.
	HM Revenue and Customs are only able to provide trade in goods data electronically from 1996 onwards. Information for previous years can be obtained from paper copies of the Overseas Trade Statistics publications, which can be found in the House of Commons Library.

NHS Commissioning Board: Pay

Tessa Munt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 761W, on NHS Commissioning Board: pay, on what date the Chief Secretary to the Treasury approved the salaries for the new appointments under the control of the Secretary of State for Health of the (a) Chief Executive, (b) non-Executive Chairman and (c) the National Directors on the executive board of the NHS Commissioning Board.

Danny Alexander: I approved the salaries for the national directors of the Commissioning Board in December 2011, and formally agreed the spot rate for the position of chief executive as part of a framework for NHS very senior managers' pay in May 2012. The salary of the non-executive chairman was not submitted for my approval as it is below relevant limits.

Northern Rock

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 100W, on Northern Rock, if officials in his Department were made aware of any earlier estimate of the probable remediation costs before receiving the final estimate on the afternoon of 5 December.

Sajid Javid: As set out in the previous answers the decision to remediate interest charges for Northern Rock Asset Management customers with Consumer Credit Act (CCA) regulated loans where the loan documentation is not compliant with CCA requirements was taken by the UKAR Board on 5 December. The estimated remediation costs were established on the afternoon of 5 December.

Revenue and Customs

Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed in HM Revenue and Customs' minimum wage enforcement teams; and how many such staff were employed in each year since 2008.

David Gauke: The current number of staff in post in HMRC minimum wage compliance teams is 122. I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 353W, for data related to earlier years.

Self-employed: Child Benefit

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people who are self-employed claimed child benefit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) each parliamentary constituency in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the total amount of child benefit paid to people who are self-employed in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland in the last year for which figures are available.

Sajid Javid: The information is not available.

Taxation: Whisky

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of a per bottle or production tax on the Scotch whisky industry;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Government on a per bottle or production tax for Scotch whisky.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. EU law requires that duties on spirits, including Scotch whisky, are set in relation to alcoholic strength. The duty is currently £26.81 per litre of pure alcohol.

Working Tax Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2012, Official Report, column 78W, on working tax credits, how many families are no longer eligible for working tax credits in each (a) region and (b) parliamentary constituency as a result of the change in working hours requirements from April 2012; and what the average loss is for families affected by the change.

Sajid Javid: The number of families working 16 to 24 hours and not eligible for working tax credit (WTC) as at 1 December 2012 is given in the following table. A breakdown at constituency level is not available as it is not possible to produce reliable estimates.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of couples with children in the tax credit population working between 16 and 24 hours and who have suffered a cash loss by not being eligible for working tax credit, as of 1 December 2012 
			 Region Number of families (thousand) 
			 North East 1.6 
			 North West 4.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3.5 
			 East Midlands 2.6 
			 West Midlands 4.3 
			 East 3.1 
			 London 9.7 
			 South East 4.1 
			 South West 2.6 
			 Wales 1.6 
			 Scotland 2.3 
			 Northern Ireland 0.9 
			 Foreign and unknown (1)— 
			 Total 41.1 
			 (1) Regions where the sample size is too small to give a reliable estimate. 
		
	
	Table 1 shows the number of couples with children who are working between 16 and 24 hours and whose tax credits award is lower as a result of losing eligibility to WTC. The average reduction in award for these people, compared to if they had retained eligibility, is £2,985.
	In addition there are around 10,000 couples nationally who have lost eligibility but whose income was high enough that the WTC element of their award was fully tapered away, so they were only in receipt of the child tax credit (CTC) element. Even though they have lost WTC eligibility, these couples should be receiving the same level of CTC. However, due to the way that daily rates are calculated, rounding effects may mean that these families have experienced a nominal decrease in their award.
	The figures in Table 1 relate to the snapshot position of families as at December 2012 and so will include those families who were working between 16 and 24 hours at April, as well as new claimants who are working 16 to 24 hours and existing claimants who have changed their work so that they are now working 16 to 24 hours. Table 2 shows how many of the 203,000 families who were working 16 to 24 hours in April 2012 have increased their combined hours to at least 24 by December. This will therefore not include new claims.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of couples with children in the tax credit population working between 16 and 24 hours as of 1 April 2012 and who had increased their combined working hours to at least 24 by December 2012 
			 Region Number of families (thousand) 
			 North East 4.4 
			 North West 14.3 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 11.1 
			 East Midlands 6.8 
			 West Midlands 12.8 
			 East 7.3 
			 London 27.7 
			 South East 8.9 
			 South West 6.0 
			 Wales 1.9 
			 Scotland 5.7 
			 Northern Ireland 4.5 
			 Foreign and unknown 0.3 
			 Total 111.9 
		
	
	Table 2 shows that, of the 203,000 families working 16 to 24 hours in April, 112,000 have not lost WTC eligibility as they have reported increased hours to HMRC. Excluding those of the 203,000 families who are exempt from the change in rules and those who are no longer affected due to other changes in circumstance, this shows that
	approximately three quarters have reported increased hours.
	The number of families working 16 to 24 hours by constituency as at April 2012 was released in answer to two questions from the hon. Member for Stockport (Ann Coffey) (104628 and 104629), which were answered on 23 April 2012, Official Report, columns 611-12W. The information requested was subsequently placed in the House of Commons Library and can be found at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0724/Couples%20working%20for%2016-24%20hours%20for%20HoCL.pdf
	Two previous question from the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson) asked for the information as at December 2011 (88172 and 88178). Those were answered on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72W and the information referred to in that answer can be found at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0031/DEP2012-0031.doc

Written Questions: Government Responses

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer question 136741, tabled on 8 January 2013 for answer on 14 January 2013.

Sajid Javid: I have done so today.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Marriage: Ceremonies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with (a) local authorities and (b) the Church of England on her proposals for (i) council halls, (ii) village halls and (iii) parish halls to be able to conduct religious-only marriages.

Helen Grant: Religious marriage ceremonies, other than those according to the rites of the Society of Friends (Quakers) or according to the Jewish religion, can only be carried out in buildings which have been registered as places of worship and also registered for the solemnisation of marriages by the religious group concerned. Council halls and village halls are not usually registered as places of worship so cannot be registered for the solemnisation of religious marriage ceremonies. They may however be authorised for the solemnisation of civil marriage ceremonies, in which no religious element is allowed. Parish halls may be registered for the solemnisation of religious marriage ceremonies if they are also a registered place of worship. Ministers have no proposals to change this, and have had no discussions on this issue.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he intends to publish a client charter setting out planned performance standards for the new Child Maintenance Service which began work in December 2012.

Steve Webb: The Child Maintenance Service has created a client charter which sets out the service experience which will be delivered by the 2012 scheme. The charter is sent to both parents as part of the initial application and case set up processes and is available as a fact sheet on request any other time. We intend to enhance the charter with performance standards once we have learnt the lessons of the pathfinder period. Performance information on the service delivered by the Child Maintenance Service will be shared via the Quarterly Summary of Statistics publication.

Children: Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications to the new statutory child maintenance scheme have been (a) received and (b) processed to the point of initial clearance, since the new scheme commenced for a pathfinder group of parents in December 2012.

Steve Webb: We are carefully observing results of the 2012 scheme and progress so far has been good. However, we are not yet in a position to release statistics regarding the number of applications and how many of them have been cleared.
	When system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Children: Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on implementation of stage one of the new child maintenance system; whether he intends the current pathfinder group of new parents eligible to apply to the Child Maintenance Service to be extended; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Last month, following extensive testing, we introduced the 2012 scheme as a pathfinder with a small number of clients. We are carefully observing the results and progress so far has been good.
	When the 2012 scheme is seen to be working well, we will open it to applicants with two or more qualifying children. After a further period to test how the system performs at these higher volumes, we will open it to all new applicants.

Electronic Government

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received about the usability of the new arrangements for the Directgov jobs database; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Universal Jobmatch is part of the Government's digital agenda, aimed at providing easy online access to Government services. It provides an online job posting and matching service which is open to everyone, regardless of whether or not they are claiming a benefit. During the early provision of this service some people experienced difficulties, which were resolved as a matter of urgency and the continuing operation of the Universal Jobmatch service is subject to constant monitoring.
	To provide some idea of the scale of the service, since its launch before Christmas over 1.3 million jobseekers have successfully registered for the service and over 320 million job searches have been undertaken.
	As this service has only recently been launched it is too early to make an assessment of its effectiveness.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households have accessed the additional employment support available for families who will be affected by the household benefit cap to date.

Mark Hoban: The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who are no longer entitled to contribution-based jobseeker's allowance after six months and remain unemployed since April 2010.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available. However, information on the number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants, by type of JSA and duration, is available from 5% sample data and can be found at:
	http://83.244.183.180/5pc/tabtool.html
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Pension Credit: East Yorkshire

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Haltemprice and Howden constituency were in receipt of pension credits in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

Steve Webb: Statistics on pension credit are available from 100% data and are published on the Department's website at:
	http://83.244.183.180/100pc/pc/tabtool_pc.html
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Personal Independence Payment

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department plans to publish the independent research design to examine the effects of the personal independence payment on (a) mental and physical health, (b) poverty, (c) isolation and (d) health and social care use for people with disabilities.

Esther McVey: The Department published its outline evaluation proposals for personal independence payment on 13 December 2012. The evaluation will aim to explore the extent to which personal independence payment has met its policy objectives and is intended to be flexible, recognising that over time the importance of issues may change and new areas of investigation may be required. The proposals are available on the DWP website:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-evaluation-proposals.pdf
	The Department has also committed to commissioning and publishing an independent review of the operation of the assessment for personal independence payment by the end of 2014. We haven't set the parameters of the independent review yet but we will work together with interested parties, such as the Work and Pensions Select Committee, to ensure that the review meets its legislative remit of reporting on the operation of the assessments.

Personal Independence Payment: Veterans

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the annual financial benefit to injured service personnel and veterans from the armed forces independence payment.

Esther McVey: Service and ex-service personnel who are awarded the Armed Forces Independence Payment will receive payments amounting to £6,988.80 per annum following its introduction in April. It will be a new Ministry of Defence scheme which forms part of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects universal credit recipients to be able to report a change of circumstance online.

Mark Hoban: The facility to provide change of circumstance online will be available to universal credit claimants once the online service is tested and proven to a satisfactory level. We are considering options for controlling the number of claimants using the online service during Phase 2 rollout building up the service over time.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all new applications for in- work benefits will be treated as applications for universal credit from April 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: From 2014, we will establish universal credit as the primary means of support for those who are in work, as well as those out of work, replacing working tax credits altogether by the end of 2017.

Universal Credit: Veterans

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of ex-service personnel that stand to benefit from the decision to disregard income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit.

Mark Hoban: Modelling of universal credit is based on the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS guidance recommends rounding results appropriately to account for known issues with using survey data, such as sampling error.
	Due to a small sample size we cannot provide a precise estimate of the number impacted by this policy, however modelling suggests that fewer than 50,000 households may benefit from the decision to disregard income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit.

Universal Credit: Veterans

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to the universal credit.

Mark Hoban: Modelling of universal credit is based on the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS guidance recommends rounding results appropriately to account for known issues with using survey data, such as sampling error.
	Due to a small sample size we cannot provide a precise estimate of the cost of this policy, however modelling suggests that the annual cost of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit is less than £50 million.

Universal Credit: Veterans

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the annual financial benefit to injured service personnel and veterans of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit.

Mark Hoban: Modelling of universal credit is based on the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS guidance recommends rounding results appropriately to account for known issues with using survey data, such as sampling error.
	Due to a small sample size we cannot provide a precise estimate of the financial benefit of this policy, however modelling suggests that the annual financial benefit to injured service personnel and veterans of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit is less than £50 million.

Work Capability Assessment: North West

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have (a) undergone work capability assessments, (b) been found capable of work, (c) appealed against their assessment and (d) been successful in their appeals in each North West local authority area in each year from 2010 to date; and what proportion of the relevant caseload this represents in each case.

Mark Hoban: The Department regularly publishes statistics on the outcomes of work capability assessments (WCA) for new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims and those going through the WCA process as part of the incapacity benefits reassessment (IBR) process.
	The latest publication relating to IBR claims is here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr
	Table 2 in the above publication provides a local authority breakdown of WCA outcomes for IBR claims. Note that appeals data is not available for IBR claims.
	The following tables provide a breakdown of the total initial WCAs for north western local authorities completed on new ESA claims, the number found fit for work at the initial WCA, the number of completed appeals against these fit for work decisions and the number of appeals where the original DWP decision was overturned. Information is provided on WCA outcomes for all claims received up to May 2012; and appeals heard for claims starting up to November 2011, the latest data available. Note that all figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, so columns may not sum to the totals shown.
	
		
			 Table 1: WCA outcomes and completed appeals for new ESA claims starting April 2010 to March 2011 
			  Number of claimants Percentage of all completed initial WCAs 
			 Local authority All completed initial WCAs Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA All appeals against FFW decision Successful appeals Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA All appeals against FFW decision Successful appeals 
			 Allerdale 720 350 110 30 48 16 4 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 720 360 130 40 50 17 5 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,780 990 440 130 56 25 7 
			 Blackpool 1,910 1,090 500 150 57 26 8 
			 Bolton 2,670 1,460 600 150 55 22 6 
			 Burnley 970 520 220 50 54 23 5 
			 Bury 1,490 740 310 90 50 21 6 
			 Carlisle 790 400 180 60 51 23 8 
			 Cheshire East 1,930 1,010 370 110 53 19 6 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 2,200 1,170 430 130 53 20 6 
			 Chorley 720 350 140 40 49 20 5 
			 Copeland 610 300 110 30 49 18 5 
			 Eden 240 110 40 10 47 17 6 
			 Fylde 450 230 100 40 52 21 9 
			 Halton 1,340 770 290 90 57 22 6 
			 Hyndburn 930 480 210 60 51 23 6 
			 Knowsley 1,850 1,100 470 120 59 26 6 
			 Lancaster 1,040 600 260 70 57 25 7 
			 Liverpool 5,650 3,450 1,510 480 61 27 8 
			 Manchester 5,600 3,180 1,440 320 57 26 6 
			 Oldham 2,020 1,110 490 110 55 24 5 
			 Pendle 870 470 190 30 54 22 4 
			 Preston 1,240 670 260 70 54 21 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Ribble Valley 260 120 40 10 47 15 5 
			 Rochdale 2,340 1,270 560 120 54 24 5 
			 Rossendale 590 280 120 40 47 20 7 
			 Salford 2,510 1,410 590 150 56 24 6 
			 Sefton 2,270 1,340 500 170 59 22 7 
			 South Lakeland 430 200 80 30 47 19 7 
			 South Ribble 650 300 120 40 46 19 6 
			 St Helens 1,820 1,020 410 110 56 23 6 
			 Stockport 1,980 960 380 140 49 19 7 
			 Tameside 2,280 1,220 430 130 53 19 5 
			 Trafford 1,380 710 260 70 52 19 5 
			 Warrington 1,320 790 330 100 60 25 8 
			 West Lancashire 800 460 180 60 58 22 8 
			 Wigan 3,020 1,740 650 200 57 22 7 
			 Wirral 3,300 1,970 830 250 60 25 8 
			 Wyre 740 360 160 50 49 22 7 
			 Total 63,430 35,050 14,450 4,080 55 23 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: WCA outcomes for new ESA claims starting April 2011 to March 2012 and completed appeals for claims starting April 2011 to November 2011 
			  Number of claimants Percentage of all completed initial WCAs 
			 Local authority All completed initial WCAs Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA All appeals against FFW decision Successful appeals Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA All appeals against FFW decision Successful appeals 
			 Allerdale 650 290 40 20 45 — — 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 640 380 50 20 59 — — 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,790 970 140 30 54 — — 
			 Blackpool 2,080 1,200 220 60 58 — — 
			 Bolton 2,510 1,440 200 40 57 — — 
			 Burnley 1,010 490 70 10 49 — — 
			 Bury 1,450 690 100 30 48 — — 
			 Carlisle 710 320 50 20 45 — — 
			 Cheshire East 1,990 1,030 160 40 52 — — 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 2,110 1,180 210 60 56 — — 
			 Chorley 660 310 40 10 47 — — 
			 Copeland 580 260 40 10 46 — — 
			 Eden 210 80 10 0 35 — — 
			 Fylde 450 200 30 10 45 — — 
			 Halton 1,180 670 100 40 56 — — 
			 Hyndburn 890 460 70 10 51 — — 
			 Knowsley 1,800 1,040 170 40 58 — — 
			 Lancaster 1,080 560 100 30 51 — — 
			 Liverpool 5,630 3,220 550 170 57 — — 
			 Manchester 5,190 2,750 410 80 53 — — 
			 Oldham 1,980 1,000 180 40 50 — — 
			 Pendle 860 410 50 10 48 — — 
			 Preston 1,240 650 100 20 52 — — 
			 Ribble Valley 260 110 20 0 43 — — 
			 Rochdale 2,140 1,060 190 40 50 — — 
			 Rossendale 590 290 30 0 49 — — 
			 Salford 2,420 1,310 230 60 54 — — 
			 Sefton 2,300 1,280 180 50 55 — — 
			 South Lakeland 450 220 30 10 48 — — 
			 South Ribble 570 270 50 10 47 — — 
			 St Helens 1,770 970 150 40 55 — — 
			 Stockport 1,890 970 150 50 51 — — 
			 Tameside 2,110 1,130 180 40 54 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Trafford 1,250 620 70 10 50 — — 
			 Warrington 1,330 690 100 40 52 — — 
			 West Lancashire 780 410 60 10 53 — — 
			 Wigan 2,840 1,610 240 80 57 — — 
			 Wirral 3,070 1,710 230 60 56 — — 
			 Wyre 740 370 70 20 50 — — 
			 Total 61,200 32,580 5,060 1,310 53 — — 
			 Note: Percentage for appeals figures omitted as appeals data does not cover same period as WCA outcomes. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: WCA outcomes for new ESA claims starting April 2012 to May 2012(1) 
			  Number of claimants Percentage of all completed initial WCAs 
			 Local authority All completed initial WCAs Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA 
			 Allerdale 120 50 46 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 80 50 54 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 300 150 51 
			 Blackpool 350 180 52 
			 Bolton 450 250 56 
			 Burnley 160 80 53 
			 Bury 240 130 53 
			 Carlisle 140 60 47 
			 Cheshire East 320 150 48 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 300 150 50 
			 Chorley 130 60 47 
			 Copeland 90 40 46 
			 Eden 30 10 41 
			 Fylde 70 40 49 
			 Halton 200 110 56 
			 Hyndburn 150 80 52 
			 Knowsley 280 160 57 
			 Lancaster 150 70 48 
			 Liverpool 860 450 53 
			 Manchester 800 420 53 
			 Oldham 330 180 54 
			 Pendle 150 80 56 
			 Preston 180 100 54 
			 Ribble Valley 40 20 42 
			 Rochdale 330 170 51 
			 Rossendale 80 30 37 
			 Salford 390 200 50 
			 Sefton 360 180 52 
			 South Lakeland 60 30 48 
			 South Ribble 120 50 44 
			 St Helens 280 120 44 
			 Stockport 330 190 58 
			 Tameside 320 170 55 
			 Trafford 210 110 52 
			 Warrington 200 120 60 
			 West Lancashire 120 70 54 
			 Wigan 480 270 57 
			 Wirral 470 210 46 
			 Wyre 120 70 58 
			 Total 9,750 5,070 52 
			 (1 )Appeals data is not available for this period